Censors' scissors strike - 'Hari om' turns to 'Jale mome'

Mumbai, May 25 (IANS) Producer-director Shashi Ranjan is annoyed with the censor board for changing the words of item song 'Hari om' into 'Jale mome jale mome' in his just released 'Dhoom Dhadakka'.

Picturised on Arati Chabria, huge chunks of the song, which has been on air for a month, had to be dropped because they apparently would've offended religious sensibilities.

'They have ruined the song. I gave in immediately because I had no time to fight back. I find it very strange. So many songs suggesting so many things are being played on the radio,' Ranjan told IANS.

'My number's promo has been playing for a month. What sense does it make to censor it when everybody has already heard it?'

Interestingly, the Central Board of Film Certification had no objection to Akshay Kumar cavorting with a group of bikini-clad ladies singing 'Hare Ram, Hare Krishna' in 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' just a few months back.

'I don't know what the censorial yardstick is. A few members of the board objected to my song. They feared PIL (Public Interest Litigation) against the words and the visuals. I had no choice but to change the words.

'What I want to ask is, what is the validity of the censor board if they're so scared of people going to the court? Let us filmmakers directly fight the PIL straight in the courts instead of going through the censor board.'

Ranjan says that he has constantly fought to discipline vulgar songs.

'If you remember, I was the president of the BJP's (Bharatiya Janata Party) film cell. I had intervened when the 'Bandit Queen' got into trouble. I've constantly fought to discipline vulgar songs. But my song in 'Dhoom Dhadakka' is by no means vulgar. And then to subject me to this - eight days before release I was told to make the deletions and changes. It was a nightmare.'