Saif plays safe

Saif debut production film Love Aaj Kal starring him with Deepika Padukone is to be released on  July 31, but trouble brews as the Punjab Cultural and Heritage Board wants to make its displeasure against the film heard.

"We quite liked the film but the problem that the communityhas with Saif's beard is still there. Rishi Kapoor's beard was too short as well and then in one scene Saif goes to the gurudwara to woo his girl, which could be objectionable. We will have a meeting with the other community members and decide what to do on Friday," President of the Punjab Cultural and Heritage Board Charan Singh Sapra said.

The film's director Imtiaz Ali and producer-star Saif Ali Khan organised a screening for members of the Board on Tuesday evening to reassure them that their movie is not disrespectful to the Sikh community.

Saif said, "Veer Singh, the character I play is one of the most respectable sardars ever but his beard is a bit thin because I've tried but it doesn't get thicker."

Several Bollywood films have notoriously portrayed Sikh characters as stereotypes over the years, and hence the community's concern over another possible misrepresentation may not be entirely unjustified. The filmmakers volunteered to satisfy the community's doubts by organising a screening.
Now the censor board has asked director Imtiaz Ali to remove the word "sardar" from a scene in the movie becoz it is felt people may find it offensive. Vinayak Azad, Regional Officer, Censor Board, says "In the scene, Saif Ali Khan is sitting with a foreigner who is looking very upset. Deepika Padukone who is sitting at a distance, texts him asking if he can make her smile. To do this Said suys to the girl, 'Ek Sardar tha..." but realising that the girl will not understand hindi, he instead says ,'There was a blonde'. Azad says he explained this to Imtiaz Ali who after deliberation changed the word sardar to 'aadmi'. Although Azad insists that Imtiaz changed it voluntarily, since he understood that the scene didnt mean anything offensive and the usage could create another controversy.

Author: Lavanya (realitybites)