Censor board wanted to cut ‘Jai Shri Ram’ from Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kabir Khan fought for it: ‘They said Muslims won’t approve when a Pakistani maulana says it’

“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,” he recalled. Kabir then told them that he too was a Muslim and he did not mind it. “I said ‘Sir, what’s my name? I don’t mind it at all,” he shared.

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Kabir Khan recalled growing up in Delhi where, at one point, ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was used to greet others and wasn’t particularly used to make a political statement. “I have grown up in a 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.

Kabir recalled watching the opening day show of Bajrangi Bhaijaan on the day of Eid where a lot of “blue collar Muslim workers” were in the audience, and they cheered for this exact scene when it played in the theatre. “I get gooseflesh thinking of it now. and the censors though they will not like it. I feel you have to stick to what you believe in and at the end of the day, it’s goodness, why won’t people like it? As I said, sometimes, the gatekeepers come in and stop that but the people don’t. People loved that, people loved whatever we were showing in that film, the politics behind it,” he said.

The eighth edition of Expresso was presented by HSBC in association with Taj Lands End, Mumbai, Seetu Kohli Homes as the Luxury Partner, Chambers of Kartik Seth as the Knowledge Partner, and Radico as the Celebration Partner.