Husain draws fans, but Meenaxi does not

MUMBAI: A day after the announcement of withdrawal of Meenaxi—A Tale of Three Cities, the film failed to pull in crowds even during its dying moments, and faced criticism instead from industry circles, with a section complaining that this was a publicity stunt.
Painter and film-maker M F Husain, who has written, directed and produced the movie, visited Regal Cinema on Saturday to judge the response of the audience, and said he was not disappointed despite the 25-30 cinegoers who turned up 15 minutes before the show, and who crowded around him for an autograph.
The painter seemed only too happy to oblige and interact with the motley group.
"Meeting Husain here was an unexpected treat," gushed NirupaMogre who had come with her teenaged daughter to see the film. "The music is very good and the promos look interesting. A friend of mine who saw the film last week recommended it."
KashmiraMobedji and her friends were also upbeat on meeting Husain. "We had come to catch the movie because we had nothing better to do on a Saturday evening. But meeting the famous filmmaker here in person has been worth it," she said.
Others like Kiran Samant and his friends had come because of media reports about the film being pulled out of theatres.
"We were afraid it would be out before we saw it," he said. Hiral Shah and her friend Dimple Shah admitted that they were there because of the curiosity factor.
"The film has generated a lot of interest. We just came to see for ourselves," Hiral said.