Releasing on same dates — October 28 — Shivaay and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil are already in a tight spot and the censor board's latest diktat isn't helping the situation. The officials have ordered quite a few cuts in both the films.
Ajay Devgn's action-thriller has been passed with a U/A certificate and six cuts and the actor has happily agreed to it. As many as four action shots have been dropped as the officials at the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) felt those were "gruesome."
"Then there were two verbal cuts. At one point the word 'Hindustani' was used by a character in a derogatory way. The CBFC asked for that to be cut. At another point, the term shiv ling was used inappropriately. That was also asked to be removed," a source informed the Asian Age.
Meanwhile, kissing scenes in Karan Johar's film have been reduced by half. Apparently, the board has asked the filmmaker to tone down (instead of removing them completely) the liplocks shared between Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma a tad. Clearly, ADHM is headed the Tamasha way, in which the kissing scenes were too torrid for the board's liking.
"There are a number of kissing scenes between Ranbir andAnushka in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. None of them has been deleted. But each one of them has been reduced by 50 percent," SKJ Bollywood News quoted an insider as saying.
Do ADHM and Shivaay have anything else to be worried about?
Although ADHM picked up really well with the trailer and songs during the initial phase of its promotional campaign, the romantic-drama is neck-deep in trouble. The ban on Pakistan-based artistes is proving to be a major hurdle and has forced Johar to make promises that he will not engage talent from the neighbouring country in his upcoming projects. Although the director has requested that his film be run hassle-free at theatres, ADHM is clearly in choppy waters.
Shivaay doesn't have much to worry about except it has Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher: Never Go Back to compete it out with — the Hollywood film releases on October 21.