Sexy '13B' song lands in censor trouble

Mumbai, March 3 (IANS) In 1994, when Alisha Chinoy sang "Sexy, sexy, sexy mujhe log bole" for the Govinda-Karisma Kapoor starrer "Khuddaar", the censor board took umbrage and the song had to be changed to "Baby, baby, baby". History seems to have repeated itself as a number, "Sexy mama", in forthcoming horror film "13B" has now landed in trouble.

After the censor board objected to the song, it will now be known as "Crazy mama".

"It's crazy (pun intended), isn't it", Anushka Manchanda, the voice behind "Sexy mama", told IANS. "Apparently, it's okay to say 'meri maa paagal hai' (the literal translation of 'O crazy mama') as long as you don't call her sexy.

"Come on, why don't they understand that it's a slang; it isn't meant to be taken literally. Some people have too much of time to think about such petty issues."

Composed by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, "Sexy mama" is written by Neelesh Mishra and has Baba Sehgal lending his voice along with Anushka.

The horror flick has been directed by Vikram K. Kumar and stars R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra in lead roles. It also features Poonam Dhillon and Sachin Khedekar.

Thankfully, the change in words will affect only television promos of the song since the number will remain intact in its "Sexy mama" avtaar in the film.

"We had applied for a censor certificate for the promos to be beamed on satellite channels. They objected to the word 'sexy' and were willing to grant an 'A' certificate, which meant that the song could be played only during late nights," said Preeti Puri Sharma, vice president (public relations) of BIG Pictures, which is producing "13B".

Though the word has been replaced, the makers are not too happy with the change.

"This didn't make sense for us since 'Sexy mama' is a promotional number and we would rather change a word and have the song play the entire day rather than just at odd hours. We agreed to their proposal and got the change made," said Sharma.

There is another twist to the tale as well. Since the film is a bilingual and has been made in both Hindi and Tamil, it required a separate certificate for the Tamil version.

But the censor board was far more liberal for the Tamil version and were fine with the entire song without any cuts or beeps.

"They have their own way of operating. The Tamil song doesn't see any word being replaced and plays on as 'Sexy mama'. Anyway, we are okay with the visibility that the song is getting, regardless of a change in word," said Sharma.

Similarly, different yardsticks seem to have been used for the certificates as well. While the Hindi version carries an 'A' certificate, the Tamil version has been granted a 'U/A' certificate.

"13B" is set to release March 6.

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13B

R. Madhavan Pictures