By Priyal Sanghavi

Utter confusion greeted Mumbai this morning. Citizens did not know if their local cinema would screen My Name is Khan on its first day. Out of 63 cinemas slated to screen the movie, 13 finally ran it to packed houses.

The meeting between MNIK producers Dharma Productions, distributors Fox Star International and cinema owners ended at about midnight last night with Fox announcing the release would go ahead as planned. But this was not enough for cinema owners, who preferred to play the waiting game. While the morning shows were cancelled, cinemas did run the early afternoon shows as planned.

Many leaders chose to attend screenings in the hope of raising public confidence. Chief Minister Ashok Chauvan and other state ministers attended the 12.40pm show at a South Mumbai theatre. Suburban cinemas did face some demonstrations, but these were quickly contained by the police. Maharashtra state saw protests in various cities, with Pune and Aurangabad cinemas choosing not to release the film at all. The rest of India, especially Chandigarh and Kolkatta, gave the film a tremendous response.

Twitter has played a big role in this row, with the man in the middle of the controversy choosing this medium to applaud his fans for their courage. Shah Rukh Khan tweeted: “I realise today ... I am just a film hero ... u all in the theatres r the real deal. god feel so loved & humbled. hats off to all heroes.” Other Bollywood A-listers like Hrithik Roshan, Lara Dutta and Riteish Deshmukh alse extended their support via tweets. In fact, MNIK is currently trending on Twitter's Worldwide list.

The matter has turned into a prestige issue for Shiv Sena and the Congress government. Although round one did go to the Sena for showing their clout in cinema halls, round two has gone to Shah Rukh. News channels have been interviewing Mumbai citizens throughout the day who are speaking in support of Khan. The man himself is currently in Berlin, where tickets for the premiere were sold out in minutes for up to €1,000.

The issue is no longer just about the movie. It is about whether one political party can hold India’s financial capital to ransom, whatever their cause. Whether they will succeed or not depends on how My Name is Khan fares in its opening week.