25 Years of Bombay Boys: Director Kaizad Gustad staged a dharna outside the CBFC office after they asked him for cuts: “I said I’d cut a dreadlock for every cut they imposed”

By Fenil Seta -

December 25, 2023 - 5:00 PM IST

Bombay Boys (1998), starring Rahul Bose, Naveen Andrews, Alexander Gifford, Naseeruddin Shah and Tara Deshpande, completed 25 years on December 25. The comic caper, memorable for the song ‘Mumbhai’, sung by Jaaved Jaaferi, was released in the pre-multiplex era and depicted sex, violence, homosexuality etc like never before. Yet, it found an audience. It was made at a shoestring budget and collected Rs. 1.81 crores. It has been given an ‘Average’ verdict.

25 Years of Bombay Boys: Director Kaizad Gustad staged a dharna outside the CBFC office after they asked him for cuts: “I said I’d cut a dreadlock for every cut they imposed”

Not many are aware that director Kaizad Gustad had to struggle to get the film cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). In an article in HT Brunch dated December 16, Kaizad revealed that the dialogue before the song ‘Mumbhai’ was ‘Khatam nahin hua, c*****e’. The CBFC asked the makers to remove the slur.

Kaizad Gustad stated that he made multiple trips to the censor's office to prevent them from doing so. Though it is not clearly mentioned in the article, it is implied that the CBFC’s members asked for many more cuts. However, Kaizad Gustad’s unique way of protesting saved Bombay Boys.

Kaizad Gustad said, “My pet peeve is that most audiences walk out of a theatre before the credits end. When Bombay Boys ends, the screen fades to black and a voiceover says, 'Khatam nahin hua, c*****e'. That's when 'Mumbhai' plays. I had to make countless trips to the CBFC office for them to not censor the word. At one point, I even staged a sit-down protest outside the office. I said I'd cut a dreadlock for every cut they imposed.”

The idea worked. Kaizad said, “They passed the film without any major damage.” Yet, ‘c*****e’ was changed to ‘dhakkan’.

At another point in the interview, Kaizad Gustad explained that he was given 1,00,000 feet of Kodak 35mm negative as a prize for winning the Kodak Short Film (in Asia) award. "This drastically cut down our budget," said Kaizad. He meticulously planned the shoot and filming was completed in 42 days. He also credited his talented ADs, Apoorva Lakhia, Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar for the feat.

Luke Kenny, in the same article, revealed that the scene where the characters steal musical instruments was shot in a slum in Andheri. The DOP Kramer Morgenthau set up multiple cameras at the location. Since the negative and resources were limited, the actors had to ensure they got it right in one take. Kramer Morgenthau later went on to shoot the cult television series 'Game Of Thrones'.