“Do you know why Punjabi singers sing so loudly,” asks Shah Rukh Khan’s very Punjabi Harry Singh to Anushka Sharma in the song Radha from their upcoming film Jab Harry Met Sejal. “Being farmers, they need to be able to hear their voice despite the tractor’s noise,” he says, breaking into a song in Shahid Mallya’s resonant voice.
Written and directed by Imtiaz Ali, the August 4 release sees Khan and Sharma visit the corners of Europe to get the titular Sejal’s perfect engagement ring.
Staying true to the style of his films (romance with songs featuring travel), Radha is a breezy earworm that sees the good-looking pair prance about picturesque locales in Europe. The Pritam composition also has vocals by Sunidhi Chauhan.
The filmmakers have gone all out with promotions, starting with a contest that promised Khan’s visit to a city that had the most number of girls named Sejal. That turned out to be Ahmedabad, where over 7,000 Sejals reportedly wrote to the actor. The makers have been also been rolling out mini-trailers, one of which, named Indemnity Bond, saw Anushka Sharma discuss the legal ramifications of sexual “intercourse”. This, of course, has earned the Censor Board’s wrath.
The Central Board of Film Certification expressed disdain over the usage of the word in the trailer and declared action against news channels that aired the uncensored teaser. The board had ordered the filmmaker to remove the offensive word, but the makers did not budge. Board chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani has threatened “strict action”.
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