The Dharma-Balaji barter system

Renowned film-maker Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor are supporting each other’s endeavours.

From what we had been hearing, Ekta Kapoor and Karan Johar had been planning a co-production for quite some time now, but somehow we still haven’t seen that materialise. Rumours had surfaced about the upcoming movie Badtameez Dil, a joint venture between Karan’s Dharma productions and Ekta’s Balaji productions, being shelved due to some issues between the two producers. However, regardless of the delays in that film, their friendship has turned mutually beneficial for their respective banners.

Recently, Karan agreed to attach the trailer of Ekta’s next production, Ragini MMS 2 starring Sunny Leone, to his upcoming release Hasee Toh Phasee starring Parineeti Chopra and Siddharth Malhotra. Ekta plans on returning the favour when another one of her productions, Shaadi Ke Side Effects hits the theatres, reported Hindustan Times.  The trailer of 2 States, starring Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor which Karan is producing, will be attached to Ekta’s film.

Confirming the news, Tanuj Garg, CEO and spokesperson of Balaji Motion Pictures, says, “Dharma is family. They kindly consented to attach the trailer of Ragini MMS 2 to Hasee Toh Phasee when it releases on February 7. To reciprocate the gesture, we will attach their trailer of 2 States to Shaadi Ke Side Effects.”

However, there’s a slight hitch because of the censor certificates given to Hasee Toh Phasee and Ragini MMS 2. While the former is a romantic comedy and has a U/A certificate, the latter is a horror film with a couple of erotic scenes and is set to receive an adult rating. “Some alterations had to be made to the trailer as per the request of the Censor Board. Some of the horror and erotica had to be toned down in order to get a U/A certificate,” says Garg. The uncensored trailer, however, will be available online.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2014.

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