Manoj Kumar on High Alert

Veteran actor Manoj Kumar's battle with 'Om Shanti Om', that started five years ago, is not over. In fact, Kumar is on alert once again, as 'Om Shanti Om' released in Japan yesterday.

"I hope those scenes in the film that made fun of me have been deleted. I'm trying to contact the makers, but I can't get through them. If they show the scenes, I will not forgive them this time," Kumar told TOI. "I don't want to depend on hearsay. I have to first find out if the scenes are part of the film. I have a friend in Japan, who will let me know," he said.

The controversy dates back to the time when Om Shanti Om released during Diwali 2007. Kumar was miffed with the way he was spoofed in the film and decided to file a case against the producers.

Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan rushed to pacify him at the time and assured him that the scenes would be deleted. A year later when he saw they were still there, he got a court order asking the producers to delete the objectionable part before the film's satellite screening.

The actor, incidentally, shares a good rapport with Farah and her brother Sajid Khan now. "Yes, we are all very cordial. Sajid calls me up and he is very respectful," he said, adding, "The spoof in Om Shanti Om is an insult to Manoj Kumar the person, and I will not compromise on that. So, I hope they've stuck to their word."

At the time of going to press, it couldn't be confirmed if his scenes were shown in Japan. Farah, who's in Tokyo for the premiere of the film, was unavailable for comment.

A spokesperson for Eros International, the distributor of the film, said, "This is a sudden development. As far as I'm aware the prints sent to Japan are from the master received from the lab six years ago. We are checking if the concerned scenes are still in the prints."