Abhijit Panse, Sanjay Raut
Abhijit Panse, Sanjay RautTwitter

The much-awaited biopic Thackeray starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui is going to hit the theatres this Friday (January 25) and just a day prior to its release, director Abhijit Panse got embroiled in war of words with senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut who has written and produced the biopic on Bal Thackeray.

It so happened that Raut had arranged a premiere show of Thackeray last night and Panse reportedly arrived late at the venue. It is being said that Panse was not happy with the treatment he had received when he reached for the premiere with his family members. He and his family members were reportedly given first row seats instead of last row seats at a theatre in Wadala. Panse angrily walked out of the theatre without watching the movie and left the venue after having an argument with Raut over failing to keep reserved seats for his family. 

While the members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) like Sandeep Deshpande and Avinash Jadhav took a dig at Raut over the controversial incident, Panse has now said that he is not upset with the producer and Shiv Sena leader for whatever had transpired.

"There was no place to sit because of a lot of crowd. So, I felt what should I do for two hours? I also had my daughters with me. Hence, we went for dinner," Panse was quoted as saying by Cinestaan.

However, Panse blamed the mismanagement of the venue at the Thackeray screening stressing that these kinds of sparks shouldn't be fueled by fire.

"I think it was because of the mismanagement at the venue. Nobody has done it personally. I feel this is very personal. Instead, we should be more interested in the fact that the film is releasing tomorrow all over Maharashtra," Panse added.

Presented by Sanjay Raut, produced by Raut'ers Entertainment LLP, Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Carnival Motion Pictures, directed by Abhijit Panse, Thackeray, which stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in titular role, is slated for a worldwide release on January 25, 2019.