A gag in the film Delhi Belly may just prove a roadblock for the film’s dream run, with an automobile brand threatening to take the producers to court. In the film, Imran Khan’s character is gifted a red car by his would-be father-in-law. On seeing the car, which strongly resembles a Santro, one of his friends comments, “When a donkey f***s a rickshaw, this is what you get.” The joke hasn’t gone down well with the car’s makers, who are demanding that the derogatory reference be taken off the screen.
“Our team has seen the movie. Even though the car is modified and the branding has been removed, everybody knows it is a Santro. Hyundai will issue a legal notice to the film’s production house, director and producer to remove the dialogue. The legal notice is on its way,” says G Sanjay, head, corporate communications, Hyundai Motor India.
Buzz has it that the joke aims to take a dig at Aamir’s arch rival, Shah Rukh Khan, who is the brand ambassador for the car. When contacted, the producer of the film, Aamir Khan, said that since he has not received any intimation from the auto company in this regard, it would be unfair on his part to comment. “We haven’t heard anything about this yet,” said his spokesperson.
The film’s lead actor, Imran, who, during the making of the film, was spotted wearing a T-shirt that had the joke printed on it, refused to comment, saying it is for the producers to take a stand on the issue.
Other sources from the film unit maintained that it was just a joke, not intended to target any brand. “In fact, Aamir made sure that certain changes were made to the car to ensure that it didn’t resemble any specific brand,” said a source.
Viewers, however, are not pleased. “It’s clearly a Santro. Aamir has taken a very clever dig at Shah Rukh through this,” says Preeti Sarin, a BPO worker.
Source:http://www.hindustantimes.com/