Dec. 18: Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer Dilwale and historical love saga Bajirao Mastani faced protests from activists of the BJP and some radical Hindu outfits on their release today, forcing theatres in some states to cancel shows.

The protests and cancellations were widespread in Gujarat where Dilwale was targeted over Shah Rukh's comments last month that there was "extreme intolerance in India". The fury coincided with big first-day collections.

In Maharashtra, Bajirao critics accused filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali of distorting history in chronicling the story of the Peshwa warrior and Mastani, a Rajput-Muslim princess who becomes his second wife.

In Madhya Pradesh, Dilwale screenings were stopped in some theatres in Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur.

All three states are ruled by the BJP, though a few such incidents were reported from Delhi and Lucknow too.

In Mumbai, a theatre in Dadar had to stop a Dilwale screening because of protests by activists of the Hindu Sena and the Hindu Mitra Mandal who chanted slogans against Shah Rukh. The actor had earlier this week said he was "really sorry if anybody felt bad" and added "everything is fine in our country".

In Pune, around 200 BJP activists led by the party's city vice-president, Jayant Bhave, forced cancellation of the day's five Bajirao shows at a multiplex. "How can they show the Peshwa singing and dancing or his (first) wife Kashibai doing so? It is in poor taste," Bhave said. Ranveer Singh plays Bajirao, Deepika Padukone Mastani and Priyanka Chopra his first wife.

Around a dozen theatres were forced to cancel Dilwale screenings in Gujarat. "We will ensure Shah Rukh's film is not screened until he seeks forgiveness," said Gopal Vyas, vice-president of Aum Yuva Kranti Sena, an outfit that had hit the streets in Ahmedabad.

In Madhya Pradesh where demonstrators tore Dilwale posters, stormed theatres and forced halts to shows in Jabalpur and Shivpuri, the protests came despite state home minister Babulal Gaur dubbing Shah Rukh a "patriot". Last month, his party colleague and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya had said the actor's "soul is in Pakistan" after he spoke out against intolerance.

In Mumbai, the high court declined a plea for a stay on Bajirao.