Several Bollywood productions are facing the chopping board

Did you know that the climax scene of the film Ishq was missing from the first rush print? Yes, that scene where Kajol pleads for the releas...

Did you know that the climax scene of the film Ishq was missing from the first rush print? Yes, that scene where Kajol pleads for the release of Aamir Khan who is languishing in jail and falls at Sadashiv Amrapurkar’s feet was added later. And when the film was released, its makers were glad that they had chopped and changed as that shot gave the film the necessary impact to make it a hit.

This second take is a common phenomenon for several of Bollywood’s film-makers. While some films are reshot extensively, others make do by adding or removing a few scenes. This process, says Jackie Shroff who is doing the same for his maiden production, Grahan is called "patch work".

Writer Rajiv Kaul prefers to use a different term. Says he, "What happened with Ishq was minor reworking." Part of the famous Rajiv Kaul-Praful Parikh scriptwriting team, he believes that reshooting only happens when an actor or actress leaves a film mid-way. Like with Kartavya, after Divya Bharati’s sudden demise. Juhi Chawla steppedin to her shoes but Dimple Kapadia refused to play her mother. Aruna Irani was called in to replace her. The film, which was halfway complete, had to be completely reshot.

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When certain scenes do not gel or lack that certain something, reshooting is inevitable. "After spending close to Rs 10 crore on a project, isn’t it normal for you to want it to be perfect?" asks Kaul.

But this happens more so with action films than emotional dramas, feels producer Dhirubhai Shah. His action-hit Vijaypath went through major reshoots when they found too much action in the middle of the movie a sequence reserved for the end. Rehashed Hollywood themes have their own problems. While most producers grab an "original" story, halfway through, they realise that someone else is working on the same theme. Govinda’s Aunty No 1 is rumoured to be going through major changes after the release of Kamal Haasan’s Chachi 420. And the release of Aflatoon had Mahesh Bhatt going back to the studios to make some changes to the Duplicatescript. Despite all this double-checking, it’s the censor that has the last word.

While generally they are not as harsh as they were with Bandit Queen or Kama Sutra, they can object to certain dialogues or scenes. Patch work is easy if it is limited either to the visual or the audio. But when it includes both, the whole sequence has to be reshot, if it is crucial to the link of the film. Like the song sequence `Ruk ruk ruk…’ in Vijaypath. It had to be changed after the Censor Board took offense to nuns and beggars dancing on the streets. Says Amod Mehra, media consultant, "In Mumbai, shooting for a single day will cost a minimum of Rs two lakh." And it is practically impossible to reshoot parts that have been shot abroad. And after all this, the success of a film is still not guaranteed. Govinda may still be number one or he will have to start the Hero No 2 series.CHATURA POOJARI