Kunal cut to size

grin and bear it: Kunal Kapoor in Hattrick

Earlier this week Kunal Kapoor, along with his family, was invited to a private screening of his film Hattrick which releases today.

At the end of it, he was left greatly disappointed. Reason? Major chunks of his role including a portion of a song he features in have been snipped off.

Directed by Milan Luthria (Taxi No 9211), the film also stars Nana Patekar, Danny Denzonga, Paresh Rawal and Rimi Sen.

This UTV project was completed in barely five and a half months to time its release along with the on-going cricket World Cup action in West Indies.

Director's call

When asked about his role being chopped, Kunal admits, "Yes, I was disappointed after watching the film.

As an actor, you get attached to every scene you do and want everything to be incorporated in the film. But then, ultimately, it is the director's call.

He knows what's good for the film and everything is done for the betterment of the project."

Kunal does not want to quantify how much of his role has been chopped. All he is willing to say is "that there are several scenes throughout the film that have been edited out. In one song, several lines have gone missing.

Obviously, a viewer will not realise it but after shooting for it and then seeing it is all not there, is disappointing. It is like what you are attached to, has gone."

The actor claims he has not spoken to any of the co-stars whether they, too, felt likewise. "I have been told that this was done to stick to the two-hour running time of the film.

At the end of the day, filmmaking is a director's medium. He calls the final shot. An actor is just hired by the filmmakers."

Kunal plays the character of Saby in the film who is obsessed with cricket. "Who is not obsessed with cricket in our country? It is in our DNA. Hattrick is a fun film and Milan has done a great job with it.

The fact that we managed to complete it in such a short time is an achievement in itself," adds Kunal who will be seen in Yash Raj's Aaja Nach Le and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag besides Rohit Shetty's next project. But Hattrick will remain one film where he found himself caught on a sticky wicket.