When the trailer of Pati Patni Aur Woh was released, on one hand the majority of the people appreciated the content, writing and the chemistry of the lead star cast – Kartik Aaryan, Bhumi Pednekar and Ananya Panday. However, a section of viewers were aghast with a dialogue that trivialized marital rape in the name of humour.
The one-liner was, “Biwi se sex maang le toh hum bhikaari, biwi ko hum sex na de toh hum atyaachari, aur kisi tarah jugaad laga ke hum usse sex haasil kar le na, toh balatkari bhi hum hai”. The reactions were so extreme that the makers decided to drop the word ‘balatkari’ from the monologue of Kartik Aaryan in the film.
Now, it has come to light that instead of muting ‘balatkari’, the makers have instead replaced it with ‘bad sanskaari’!
Also, this seems to be a voluntary modification done by the producers and not something that was done at the behest of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The CBFC, however, did ask for some additional changes in order to pass the film with U/A certificate.
One of the changes was in the controversial dialogue itself. Instead of ‘usse sex haasil’, the dialogue was changed to ‘usko sex ke liye raazi kar le na’.
Then there were few more changes. The abusive words ‘c*****a’, ‘haraamzaade’ and ‘iski maa ka’ were muted wherever used. Then there’s a crucial scene in the mall where Bhumi Pednekar’s character asks a staffer about a Raymond showroom. To which the staffer had originally replied “Raymond showroom bandh ho gaya hai”.
Realizing that this might sound like that the showroom has permanently shut down and mar the image of the clothing brand, the said dialogue was changed to “Raymond showroom aaj bandh ho gaya hai.”
Finally, disclaimers were asked to be added stating that the film is a piece of fiction, that the makers don’t intend to malign any individual or community and that the parrot and lizards shown in the film are created using computer graphics.
The final length of the film is 2 hours 8 minutes. Pati Patni Aur Woh releases tomorrow, that is, on December 6.
