MUMBAI: Priyadarshan who had all but lost his battle to get Mallika Sherawat number out of his new film ‘Tezz’, won a partial victory at the last minute.
Or so he thought.

The producers apparently agreed to remove Sherawat’s item number from all prints in Delhi and  Mumbai. Says a source close to Priyadarshan, “Priyan was very very sure he wanted the song removed at any cost. But the producers pleaded that the prints had already gone overseas and to the non-metropolitan centres. Priyan and Ratan Jain finally came to a compromise. The producer agreed to edit Mallika’s number out of all prints in the metropolitan cities. However finally Jain said he could only keep his word in Mumbai and Delhi.”

Said a close friend of the director, “Priyan was requested to let the song be in non-metropolitan centres. He said the audiences will love Mallika’s gyrations in Bihar, UP and like-minded centres. Though Priyan disagreed with the logistics dividing audiences in metropolitan and non-metropolitan groups he relented because Ratan Jain spent Rs 1.35 crores on the song. However expensive it may be the song had to go out of Delhi and Mumbai.”

Or so Priyadarshan believed until Thursday afternoon, hours before the film’s release.

Ratan Jain said to businessofcinema.com, “No the song is included everywhere (including Delhi and Mumbai).”

Priyan was livid, “What can I say? I am getting to know they are not removing the song only now. I don’t want to say anything negative when the film is hours away from release.”