No big deal if scenes that don't impact film's narrative are cut: Abhi

Actor Abhishek Bachchan today said he did
not mind the omission of certain scenes in
Manmarziyaan to "placate the Sikh
community as it doesn't harm the film's
larger idea.
Manmarziyaan producers Eros and Anand L
Rai's Collour Yellow Productions a few days
ago approached the Censor Board for
deletion of three scenes in the film two
sequences showing Taapsee Pannu and
Abhishek Bachchan smoking, respectively,
and one scene in a Gurudwara where
Taapsee's character Rumi is thinking about
her ex-lover while getting married to
Abhishek's Robbie.
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The makers' request came after the Sikh
community raised an objection to the
above-mentioned scenes. Kashyap, who
was apparently not informed about the
exchange between the makers and censor
board, took to Twitter to slam Eros'
chairperson Kishore Lulla.
"Congratulations. Here by all problems of
Punjab are solved and Sikh youth have been
saved. Happy to be back in LaLa land again.
Next time you are threatened by a film
please call Kishore Lulla directly on Eros
knows how to solve matters in minutes,
Kashyap had tweeted. Taapsee, meanwhile,
has been shutting down trolls on Twitter
speaking against the deleted scenes.
Today, during a Q&A session at the Jagran
Cinema Summit, Abhishek was asked about
his reaction to the incident, to which the
actor said he feels the pain of exhibitors
who he believes would be at a loss if people
don't go to cinema halls to watch
Manmarziyaan because of certain portions
in it.
"Each individual is allowed to react the way
they have and they want to. It's their
personal opinion. For me, it's not a big deal.
My film isn't about anyone smoking. I have
no problem cutting that out if someone has
taken objection to it. The intention of the
makers is not to hurt anyone or to upset
any community or ruffle any feathers. We
just wanted to make a nice love story and
that's what the film is about. If by cutting
out one or two shots, it's going to placate
someone and make them feel better, I've no
problem doing that.
"If me cutting out three shots which is not
impacting my narrative makes you happy,
by all means. My intention is not to hurt you
or court a controversy. I'm very clear of
these things. If they are removed, I'm fine,
the actor said.
Also read | Manmarziyaan row: A timeline of
everything that has happened so far
When the summit's moderator Mayank
Shekhar followed up with a question
whether the Manmarziyaan producers'
decision would set a wrong precedent for
future films, Abhishek said one needs to
look at every film separately and in entirety.
"It depends on what the issue is. I'm
looking at it in its entirety. Why and who is
objecting, what's the purpose behind the
objection. If that's genuine, look into it
genuinely and address it. You need to ask
who's the loser here? In the situation like
we are in right now, it's the exhibitors. I, as
an actor, have done my job and have been
paid. If there is an objection or a protest, a
cinema hall might get vandalised, shows of
the exhibitors might get cancelled and that
person is going to lose money. If you say
it's a bad precedent, please underwrite all
the losers that people down the chain are
going to face. I'll stand by you.
"That's my industry as well and I've got to
think about that as well. Those one or two
shots aren't going to change the story, so
take it out. If it's changing the narrative or
the reason why I'm making the film, then
no. Like in Udta Punjab. But here, I'm not
going to sit on my ego for three basic
shots, which might affect the exhibitors. It's
my industry as well, he concluded.

https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/abhishek-bachchan-on-manmarziyaan-row-5368992/