Raj Thackeray's 'Chak de' treat for women's wing of MNS

Mumbai, Sep 27 (UNI) Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray today treated the women's wing of his party to a special screening of 'Chak de India' on the occasion of the party's first anniversary.

Mr Thackeray said the theme of team spirit and nationalism, depicted in the film, had inspired him.

''The film depicts the feeling and need for team spirit so strongly to emerge victorious in any field. Hence, I thought that the screening of this film will inculcate the same spirit in my party,''he said.

Mir Ranjan Negi, the former goalkeeper and hockey coach, who was the inspiration for the making of the film, was felicitated by Mr Thackeray along with the film's director Shimit Amin. Actors -Chitrashi Rawat (Komal), Shilpa Shukla (Bindiya) and Shubhi Mehta (Gunjan) were also felicitated on the occasion.

''The film is not about me but about 16 girls from different backgrounds and culture belonging to parts of the country who shed their differences to emerge victorious,'' Mr Negi said.

Mr Thackeray, while referinng to the felicitation function for victorious cricketers yesterday, criticised the manner in which the players were seated on the second row behind the politicians. ''It looked like a political function and was in bad taste,''he felt.

Referring to the cash doles to the cricketers, Mr Thackeray said the hockey team had won the Asia cup recently, but they were ignored.

UNI