Apart from CBFC's six snips, Shah Rukh Khan, director Aanand L Rai make 20 voluntary cuts to shorten Zero's run time
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; December 21, 2018)

Shah Rukh Khan has left no stone unturned to ensure that the audience is privy to the best version of his passion project, Zero. The Aanand L Rai-directed film was granted the UA certificate earlier this week after the team agreed to six minor cuts recommended by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

However, Khan and Rai submitted another abbreviated version of the romance drama on Wednesday morning, which was soon cleared by the Censor Board. Turns out, Khan thought the film would benefit from a shorter run time and hence, snipped some sequences.

Says a trade source, "After the Zero screening earlier this week, the CBFC officials had minor suggestions — in a scene featuring Shah Rukh and his co-actors, they recommended that the word 'peechwade' be replaced with 'jigar'. They also asked that the words 'haraamzaade' and 'haraami' be muted."

After the CBFC's clean chit, the film was set for its date with the audience. However, on Tuesday evening, the superstar revisited the project and suggested close to 20 snips to reduce the runtime.

The source adds, "Shah Rukh and Rai felt that the run time could be shortened to accommodate more shows in multiplexes and advertorials. So they went back to the editing table and snipped several scenes, including one where Shah Rukh is seen consuming alcohol, and a wedding sequence. They trimmed it by five minutes, and the run time now stands at 159 minutes."

CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi, Red Chillies Entertainment and Rai remained unavailable for comment.