Dilip Cherian accuses Maharashtra Govt. of imposing 'cultural terrorism'

New Delhi: Image consultant Dilip Cherian on Wednesday accused the Maharashtra Government of imposing 'cultural terrorism' following its directive to multiplexes to show only Marathi films during the prime time slot.

"I think that the Maharashtra Government is doing cultural terrorism. There is no reason why they need to impose this. If they want to promote films, there are better ways to do it," said Cherian.

"This actually hits the commercial requirements of multiplexes that are there to make a profit and a lot of them are making very narrow margins at the moment. From the multiplex owners' point of view, this is a very difficult period to cope with," he added.

The move of compulsory screening of Marathi films during the prime time has not only irked multiplex owners, but several people from the film industry.

Former chief minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh's son and actor Ritesh Deshmukh, however, welcomed this step by the Maharashtra Government.

Maharashtra Culture Minister Vinod Tawde had yesterday defended the government's decision, saying that it had been taken to promote Marathi movies.

"We will talk to Marathi film producers and multiplex owners to decide on two show timings to show Marathi films , out of which they can choose one. Prime time is the time when all the members of the family can come to watch a movie, like the 6 pm to 9 pm slot," Tawde said.

The government is also considering making the screening of a documentary on Dadasaheb Phalke mandatory before every movie.