If waiting to see Saif and Deepika in lingering lip-locks and passionate liaisons the distributors are in for a disappointment. The relationship between Deepika and Saif unfolds and develops on a college campus where the Big B playing Deepika's father is the principal.
Says Jha, "There's no room for any physical intimacy between Saif and Deepika.Though that's what is expected of them I'm not forcing any love scenes into the script. And if that is a problem for the distributors and the audience, so be it. I can't shuffle around the cards in my screenplay just to get the audience tantalized."
A similar scenario had unfolded when after the grand success of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani distributors expected a feast of fireworks between Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in Raajneeti.But Jha had desisted all attempts to armtwist him into making his lead pair sizzle for the camera.
Protests Jha, "Aarakshan is not that kind of a film. The film is set on a college campus. We're shooting in a college named Oriental in Bhopal. But we've changed it to Shakunatala Thakral College.
The entire atmosphere and ambience are academic. The classes are going on normally while we shoot in one corner. We can't have Saif and Deepika taking a break for a kiss or a song.
Their relationship is more implicit and built on suggestions and hints formed from a long and dependable association. Sorry, there are no torrid moments between Saif and Deepika and I am not forcing them in."
If singing dancing and romancing in the college campus is your scene then try Karan Johar's Student Of The Year. Apparently the film will have over a dozen songs while Karan's students sing and dance their hearts out.
Aarakshan and Student Of The Year will be released at around the same time next year to create two contrasting portraits of the academic world.
As someone close to both the projects quips, "Aaarakshan is about job reservation. Student Of The Year is college life without reservations."