'Dharmaveer 2' a 'politically motivated' film, says Sanjay Raut

Mumbai: Describing the film 'Dharmaveer 2' as "politically motivated", Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said that the film seems to be dishonouring the memory of the late firebrand leader Anand Dighe, upon whom it is based. 

"… If the film's first part ended with Dighe's death, how could there be a second part to it?", asked Raut a day after the trailer and poster launch of ‘Dharmaveer 2 : Mukkam Post Thane’, which is slated to be released on August 9 this year.

"The film is politically motivated and disrespectful to late Balasaheb Thackeray and late Anand Dighe, who shared an excellent guru-discipline relationship… falsehood is being spread through the film's dialogues attributed to Dighe, who was loyal to Balsaheb", he said.

'Dharmaveer 2 : Mukkam Post Thane' is a sequel to the film 'Dharmaveer' - which was based on the life and times of late Anand Dighe - the mentor of current Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena supremo Eknath Shinde. It is being released during the run up to the assembly polls in the state.

Dighe, who was also referred to as "Dharmaveer", was a close ally of the late founder of the Shiv Sena Balasaheb Thackeray, and was much respected and revered in the Thane area, bordering the city of Mumbai. Dighe, born on January 27, 1951, died due to a heart attack following a road accident in Thane at the age of 50 on August 26, 2001.