Our Bureau
Mumbai
Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the directorial venture of Kabir Khan, was one of the biggest movies of 2010s and one of the biggest hits from Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. In a movie that was based around a character that was a huge devotee of Lord Hanuman, Kabir Khan recalled that the Censor Board had asked him to remove the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ dialogue from the film.
Kabir while talking about the incident, recalled the scene from the movie which was set in Pakistan where Om Puri’s character greets Salman’s character (Bajrangi). When he senses that Bajrangi is hesitating to say “Khuda Hafiz” he says in a sweet voice, “Aap logo mein kya kehte hain? Jai Shri Ram na? (What do you guys say? Jai Shri Ram?)”
However, the director revealed that the censor board had asked him to cut the scene as they believed that it might end up upsetting the Muslim community in the country. The director then reminded them of his name and stated that he wouldn’t mind it at all.
“And Om Puri’s character, without batting an eyelid, says ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and the censor actually asked me to cut that. I asked why and they said that Muslims won’t like it. I said ‘Sir, what’s my name? I don’t mind it at all,” the director shared.
Kabir then remembered his time growing up in Delhi and stated that saying ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was never a political salutation but a way to greet each other. He believed that it would not upset anyone but the gatekeepers who are drawing limits.
“If the film still gets love, then it means that somewhere it hit home. I feel it’s the gatekeepers who sometimes draw these limits. I have grown up in Delhi where ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was not a political salutation. It was used by everybody and I have been in Old Delhi where ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was like saying ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’, so I asked why would they feel bad about this? I fought for it. I stuck to it,” he said.
