by Subhash K Jha

There's good news about Sanjay Gupta's extremely violent dark and foreboding new film Zinda . It's just got past the censors unscathed.

"I'm amazed. The film has gone without cuts with an 'A' certificate. They offered to give me a 'UA' certificate if I accepted substantial cuts. I preferred to go without cuts. They've allowed all the violence and bloodshed which are integral to the film to go scot-free. And for the first time the two mainstream heroes –Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham—use graphic expletives, including the 'f' word."

Is the censor board growing up? Gupta seems to think so. "They've shown extreme maturity in dealing with Zinda. If they had ordered me to cut the film it would have been ruined. Surprisingly there were three women on the censor panel and they loved the film! I'm truly amazed. I guess our cinema is growing up, and the censor board reflects that maturity."

Deviating from the norm Sanjay Gupta intends to release Zinda all over the world on Jan 11—"For Eid...I had to prepone the film on my distributors' request. They all felt the Eid Wednesday is a good time to release, so we get a long weekend for the film to grow."

The director plans a series of media and glamour events throughout the week when Zinda is released. "Though it's a dark film I've never felt more charged and optimistic about any of my films."

The film's music soundtrack is racing up the charts.

Says Gupta, "We really slogged over the tracks. This is the first time when Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham have been showed their musical aptitudes. They not only sing, Dutt has even contributed to the tunes and lyrics...Zinda wasn't an easy film to make...And let me warn you, it isn't an easy film to see."