Bharati Dubey/TNN
Mumbai, Jun 5: The Thackerays didn't get a special dekko of the Bachchan family-starrer, Sarkar Raj , after all.
Blame it on the prickly issue of attack on North Indians or the verbal attacks directed at Bollywood's first family, but sources say that the Bachchan family has left for Bangkok for the film's world premiere on Wednesday night. Neither Balasaheb Thackeray nor Raj Thackeray have seen Sarkar Raj .
The Thackerays—both Balasaheb and Raj—had asked the film's producer-director Ramgopal Varma to organise a special screening of the film that is reportedly based on their family. Incidentally, the film unit had organised a special show of Sarkar , the film that preceded Sarkar Raj , for Balasaheb Thackeray three years ago.
According to a source from the Sarkar Raj unit, "There was no screening for the Thackerays. Only the Bachchan family and friends have seen the film before release. In fact, Abhishek wanted to be the first one to see the film after the first copy was out."
Bachchans, along with Varma left for Bangkok, to attend the world premiere of the film to be held on Thursday. "So there is no chance of the Thackerays getting to watch the film before it hits the theatres," adds the source.
According to an MNS source, "Raj Thackeray was promised a special screening but the film has not been shown to him." It maybe recalled here when Raj Thackeray learnt that there is a character in the film that has strong resemblance to him, he had asked Varma to show him the film before its release. Raj had visited Varma's office and had seen about 25 minutes of the film.
The senior Thackeray immediately summoned Varma and demanded a special screening for himself.
In Sarkar Raj , which is a sequel to Sarkar, Amitabh Bachchan plays a political patriarch closely resembling the character of Bal Thackeray. Its villain, played by newcomer Rajesh Shringarpore, bears a resemblance to Raj Thackeray.
Raj Thackeray's move to see the film before the release is seen as another act of hijack by Matoshree after the entire North Indian issue, something that originally belonged to Sena ideology. The entire episode has assumed a different dimension as Raj Thackeray has an ongoing tiff with Amitabh Bachchan over the sons of soil issue.