The 2011 film Desi Boyz, starring Akshay Kumar and John Abraham, was a story of two men who turn into strippers. While many believed that this Rohit Dhawan starrer was the first film to show this side of adult world, the fact is that it was not. Way back in 2003, Deepak Tijori had tackled this idea in Oops, his directorial debut. This was the pre-Murder (2004) era and hence, watching such kind of films in cinemas was a big no for several moviegoers.
When Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Deepak Tijori recently, he explained the film had more than just bold and intimate scenes, “The message of the film was very important. I could foresee what was coming. I had met a boy who was a stripper. The idea of women having bachelorette parties and calling male strippers was so new for our audiences. However, the culture was already going on and I wanted to highlight that in my first film. A lot of people then were shocked as it was ahead of its time. But now people come and tell me, ‘Sir, Oops 2 banaiye. Abhi time sahi hai. Oops abhi shocker nahi hai. Ab uska baap le aaiye’!
A film like Oops would have faced a lot of cuts from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in today’s times. 18 years ago, Deepak Tijori revealed that it was far more challenging. He explained, “The Censor Board did impose cuts but it was nothing major. Eventually, the film touched upon the crisis of a mother. However, they did not accept the shot of a bare-bodied Mita Vashisht being on top of a boy. For the first time, we showed a woman riding on top of a man. It was not acceptable to them. There was a lady on the committee. I told her, ‘Ma’am, I am not showing any nudity. This is a sexual act.’ The members told me ‘Hamari society mein yeh acceptable nahi hai’. I told them ‘Saare ghar mein auratein aur aadmi issi tarah se sex karte hai. Aap nahi karte toh woh baat alag hai. Ya aap karte honge par aap chhupana chahte hai’! The lady on the committee agreed with me. So thanks to her, they let it pass. In another instance, they cut the length of the kiss. I agreed to it though.”
The trend of films releasing in multiple languages is in vogue at present. But at that time, even Oops had followed this trend as it was a bi-lingual film. Deepak said, “The English version of the film never saw the light of the day. I am restoring it. The DI work is going on at present and I am looking at releasing it on OTT. It is very today’s subject.”
He further said, “I submitted the English version to the National Awards. It went neck-to-neck with Mr & Mrs Iyer (2002). The secretary from the department called me and told me that he’s surprised that my film is pitted against a film by Aparna Sen.”
Oops did not work at the box office but the Kiran Janjani-Vikas Sethi starrer got a positive response from the viewers, said Deepak Tijori. He revealed, “I got a fabulous response from women. I remember I used to drop in for lunch at a friend’s office. One day, the peon told my friend that the CEO of the company wants to see me. I thought maybe because I am an actor is why she wants to meet. She shook hands and then told me that she did not go to the cinemas to watch Oops because of the way it was publicized. She then told me that what I have conveyed in the film is something no man could have done.”
Deepak Tijori continued, “Then, a pilot friend of mine saw the film and he told me, ‘Deepak, me and my both are pilots. We leave my mom at home exactly like this. We don’t care whether it's Diwali or her birthday. She’s sadoing in the house. However, I promise you that I’ll take care of her from now on’. For me, that was my achievement. It made me feel that I have earned respect.”
Regardless of the way it was promoted, Deepak Tijori assured that the script had substance. He reasoned, “That is why Mita Vashisht did this role. She’s a senior actor and is not going to agree to do a frivolous part. She read the script and said that it was incredible. Hence, I’ll always be proud of Oops.”
More Pages: Oops? Box Office Collection , Oops? Movie Review
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