In an incident that would send shivers down the spine of many filmmakers in Bollywood, on Wednesday evening Feroz Abbas Khan's bold and unapologetic film Dekh Tamasha Dekh on the communal divide was stopped from screening in the heart of Mumbai city at the Eros cinema hall, hours before the scheduled time.

What baffled the disbelieving director was that it was private screening.

Speaking of the incident the director Feroz Khan said, `I don't know how it happened. I've no clue how these people came to know about the screening of my people. I don't even know which organization they owe their allegiance to because they didn't tell us.`

However Feroz is certain the protesters were from an Islamic organization.

Elaborating on the incident Feroz said, `Eros cinema is next to my home. I had organized a screening for some friends on Wednesday evening.At around 4 pm a group of people descended at the theatre asking the management if there was a screening of my film...I don't know whom they got the information from. This was a private screening.`

There were only 8-9 protesters since no more than 15 people are allowed to assemble in the locality where Feroz lives. `Anyway when they were told about the screening they started screaming slogans and shouting against the film. The theatre management had no choice but to stop the screening.`


What worries Feroz is that the threat didn't restrict itself to the screening. `The protesters very clearly said they wouldn't allow the film's screening on television. We haven't yet finalized a television screening for Dekh Tamasha Dekh. We have reason to worry because I think the protests are going to spread. I think these fundamentalist organizations have now woken up to what my film is trying to say.`

Feroz says the protesters were so far clueless about the film content. `By the time they realized what my film was about, that it discusses the communal divide frankly, the film was already out of the theatres. So I feel they'll now seek out other channels of disruption , like the private screening that I was going to have on Wednesday, and the television premiere.`

Said Feroz, `Thursday was May Day and also Maharashtra Day, so everything was quiet. But I am expecting trouble after May Day.`