John and Akshay go ‘Desi’ for Dubai showing

Denial and shock were the emotions of the hour as some of Bollywood’s top stars descended upon Dubai on Tuesday to promote their upcoming film, ‘Desi Boyz.’

While Akshay Kumar batted questions pertaining to the recession, John Abraham voiced his confusion over why the film was handed an A-certificate by the Indian Censor Board.

Neither seemed amused, even though the belles of this ball, namely Deepika Padukone and Chitraganda Singh, grinned throughout the proceedings.

Kumar, being the senior most member of the foursome, took the bull by its horns to clear up some misconceptions straight off the bat, by saying: “I would like everyone to know that ‘Desi Boyz’ isn’t a comedy film. This is a drama between two friends and what happens to their lives during the recession.

“This is not some senseless comedy or a masala potboiler, but rather a complete story that touches on human emotions.”

For those not in the know, ‘Desi Boyz’, which is said to be heavily inspired by the British smash-hit, “The Full Monty”, narrates the trials and tribulations of two Oxford University graduates, Jerry “Rocco” Patel (Kumar) and Nick “Hunter” Mathur (Abraham) and how they are forced to become male escorts.

Padukone and Singh play their respective love interests, with actor Sanjay Dutt playing a cameo as the owner of ‘Desi Boyz’, the most popular strip-club in town and where the two heroes find a place to strip down for some fast cash.

“We were lucky that the recession only affected India by five or 10 per cent in the follow up to 2008’s crash, but it had an astounding affect on many world econmies,” explained Kumar. “Thousands around the world were forced into working at burger joints, petrol stations and even as male escorts to keep a roof over their heads.

“I’m sure even Dubai was just as hit.”

A visibly emotional Kumar narrated a personal story, saying: “I have a friend in Hong Kong who sat for dinner one night with a bank balance of $120 million, but by breakfast the next morning his total net worth had reached zero.

“While in his case, us friends rallied around and helped him financially, millions around the world were left with not a penny to their name. Surely, it is no crime then that they turn to any legal means to pay off their debt.”

In the premise of the film though, the male escort/pole dancing do see the boys strip down to their boxers on screen, which is probably what has resulted in the film receiving its adult certification; however, the actors are not amused.

Said Abraham: “We couldn’t believe it when the film was given an A-certificate by the Indian Censor Board. This is, by far, one the cleanest films ever made and we are all shocked at the rating.

“There is one scene in the film where I get punched in the face and there was a speck of blood on my lip; Akshay immediately wiped it off and told me this was a family film that was targeted at a younger audience so we couldn’t have bloodshed or expletives. We just can’t get over the shock.”

Shock or not, the rating would certainly limit the film’s audience and possibly eat into the film’s overall box office collections, but the actors haven’t lost hope that it would still reign supreme.

Directed by Rohit Dhawan, son of Bollywood’s king of comedy, David Dhawan, “Desi Boyz” releases across UAE cinemas on November 24.

The foursome followed up the media meet with a volleyball match at Bits Pillani, and an evening at Club Elegante, Royal Ascot Hotel.

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