| | | BOLNE KI BAAT HAI: (L-R) John Abraham, Sanjay Gupta and Sanjay Dutt at a function to unveil a jewellery collection inspired by their film, Zinda, at Taj Lands End, Bandra, yesterday. Pic: Sujit Jaiswal | John Abraham had reservations while spouting expletives in Sanjay Gupta's Zinda, releasing tomorrow. Gupta tells hitList, "Yes, he did talk to me about it. John had qualms about using foul language; he still has some reservations. He is a very fan-oriented person. I had to sit and talk to him."
"Zinda is the first film in Hindi cinema where commercial stars will mouth expletives in not only Hindi, but English as well. There are situations where they say 'f*** it' and 'f***' you," says the director.
Justifying the use of such expletives, he says, "In the film, the actors find themselves in desperate situations. Surely, you don't expect them to be polite and say 'ji, ji.'" Only for adults
Gupta further says, he told Abraham he need not worry about his young fans at least, as they would not see the film, which has an A certificate. "I am glad the film has not received cuts, and I have been given an A certificate. Through hitList, I would like to tell parents to be careful with their kids if they have a VCD or DVD of Zinda at home, in the future."
Gupta says he is happy that, unlike his last three films (Plan, Kaante and Musafir), the censors understood this one in its total perspective. "In fact, they loved it and said this was one of the best films they had seen. They said that I had the choice of removing the expletives and taking a U/A certificate, or keeping the expletives and taking an A certificate." | Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde:
John Abraham and Sanjay in promotional shots for Zinda | Early experiences
Reminisces the director, "In Kaante, they asked me to cut the cuss word 'c*****a' in five places, and I had to introduce words like 'tutiya' and 'dutiya' — yet they gave me an A certificate. In Musafir, they had objections to many things, and didn't give me a U certificate despite heavy chopping. In Plan, they said they couldn't grant a U since the theme was adult-like." Sanju was okay with it
According to Gupta, Sanjay Dutt had no problems abusing on-screen. "Sanjay has been almost a co-director on Zinda. This film is just like his baby."
Besides Dutt and Abraham, Zinda stars Lara Dutta and Celina Jaitley. The balance cast comprises Mahesh Manjrekar and Raj Zutshi.
Abraham remained unavailable for comment. |
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