Salim Khan says cut to Bajrangi song

Blown away by the poignant climax, Salman's dad feels playing Aaj ki party during end credits detracts from the film.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan's celebratory Eid song, Aaj ki party meri taraf se, which launches today, may well become a rage with youngsters and play at clubs, but Salman Khan's dad, Salim Khan, didn't care for the track when he saw the film at a special screening recently. Confirming this, the film's director, Kabir Khan, told Mirror, "It's a party song for Salman's fans to enjoy and we ourselves were undecided about whether to incorporate it in the film's narrative. We attached it to the end credits and that was the cut Salim saab saw. After the show, he told me that the greatness of the film is without the song." 

The veteran scriptwriter went on to reminisce about a mushaira he'd attended. A poet from Lucknow approached famous shayar Firaq Gorakhpuri there and told him, "Firaq saab, mazaa aa gaya." An enraged Firaq reacted saying, "Mazaa kyun aaya? Yeh kya koi Bombai ka chaat hai ki khake mazaa aa jaye!" 

Kabir points out that loosely translating entertainment as fun and laughter is limiting it. "You can laugh, cry or remain stone-faced, but it should engage you for two-and-ahalf hours," he points out. He agreed with Salim Khan that the song, which was only attached to get reactions at test screenings, was unnecessary for the film, and dropped it. 

Kabir believes that end credit songs have become a disease which we do not need. "Only some romcoms and love stories can carry them off. I've seen some very good films destroyed by a song at the end. You spend two-hours creating a character who's real and believable and, then, seeing him in garish clothes and dancing merrily destroys the vision," he argues, adding that it's like pouring sugar into your mouth after a good meal because it's sweet. "We don't need sweet." 

He's been struggling to make a mainstream film with a big star which reaches out to a pan-India audience while keeping the context, setting and characters real. He believes he's pulled it off. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan is my Kabul Express made in a mainstream way while retaining its soul," says Kabir, giving credit to Salman for walking the extra mile and even going against the grain of the star we've seen the last decade. 

The only thing not in sync is this promotional song,which will now play only on TV. "As a director, I don't need it. I have enough songs in my film. But it was a marketing call and I understand that a big-budget film needs to keep generating content to create excitement in the audience without impinging on my film."