An edited montage of characters playing the piano in Hindi movies across the years, set perfectly to the tune of Andhadhun’s theme song, was reportedly dropped from the final theatrical print of Sriram Raghavan’s thriller because of copyright concerns. Filmmaker Atul Sabharwal shared a video of the two-minute segment on Twitter on Sunday.
The clip, which appeared at the end of the film after the credits in the original print, pays homage to the cinematic significance of the musical instrument at the centre of the thriller. Andhadhun stars Ayushmann Khurrana as a blind pianist who chances upon the scene of a murder. Also starring Tabu and Radhika Apte, the thriller opened to rave reviews on October 5.
The video includes clips of Dev Anand on the piano in Khwab Ho Tum from Teen Devian (1965) and Koi Sone Ka Dilwala from Maya (1961), Rajesh Khanna in Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai from Kati Patang (1971), Dilip Kumar and Nargis in Tu Kahe Agar Jeevan from Andaz (1949) and Shah Rukh Khan in Ruk Ja from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). Also included was a blink-and-miss shot of a teenage Tabu from Hum Nau Jawan (1985).
You perhaps missed this end scroll in theatres while watching #AndhaDhun. It was removed. It's one of my favourite sequences, as evocative as #CinemaParadiso's kiss montage. pic.twitter.com/HfmQFdP0Io
— Atul Sabharwal (@sabharwalatul) October 7, 2018
Sabharwal said the video was reminiscent of a similar montage in Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988), which centres on the friendship between a boy and a cinema projectionist at an Italian theatre. The final scene of the Oscar-winning film shows a series of kissing scenes that were cut out of movies over the years at the orders of the local priest.