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In an attempt to "save" the film, the studio proposed bringing in a Hollywood editor from 20th Century Fox. While Kashyap resisted, the film was eventually reviewed by and his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker . While they understood the studio's pressures, the final theatrical version remained a "perforated" version of Kashyap's dream. Impact of the Cuts
Kashyap ultimately agreed to reduce the length of the kissing scenes and edit out the abusive words in order to secure the U/A certificate. But he made his fury known — and his buried voice remains in the film’s soundtrack to this day.
The most significant deleted sequences revolve around character depth. The theatrical version reduces Ranbir Kapoor’s street-fighter-turned-jazz-club-owner, Johnny Balraj, to a lovesick pawn. Deleted scenes, however, reportedly contained an extended prologue showing Balraj’s brutal childhood in the Bombay slums and his first, formative encounter with Karan Johar’s chillingly charismatic crime lord, Kaizad Khambatta. Without this prologue, Balraj’s climactic descent into violence lacks tragic weight. bombay velvet deleted scenes
The film struggled to balance its gritty, violent narrative with the desired UA certificate. As a result, the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) demanded cuts.
Karan Johar’s villainous Kaizad had a 4-minute cut speech about “owning not just flesh, but dreams.” The monologue ended with him feeding a pet mynah bird. The theatrical version reduced him to cackling camp; the deleted footage reveals a cold, philosophical predator.
In the original cut, the characters were portrayed as being unable to keep their hands off each other, with constant kissing and talking that established a much deeper emotional and physical bond. If you want to explore more about this
While some of these sequences have been discussed by the cast and crew in interviews, others only surfaced in post-release promotional featurettes and script leaks. 1. Johnny Balraj’s Descents into Madness
If you want to dive deeper into the production history of this film, let me know. I can provide more details on , break down the budget breakdown , or analyze the musical score by Amit Trivedi . Share public link
For years, cinephiles and fans of Anurag Kashyap have campaigned for the release of the official Director's Cut of Bombay Velvet . Kashyap himself has expressed a desire to release his original version, noting that the film he intended to make remains locked away in studio vaults. Impact of the Cuts Kashyap ultimately agreed to
crore rupees, producers were desperate for a shorter runtime and a "U/A" certificate to maximize box office potential. This led to approximately of footage being removed during post-production. Key Categories of Deleted Scenes
Fans of Kashyap’s gritty style, seen in Gangs of Wasseypur , often argue that Bombay Velvet required more time to build its world. The deleted footage likely contained:
Critics noted that the film introduced “powerful ideas that have been lain to waste here, like the journalistic rivalry between Khambatta and Mistry, the subtle insertion and acceptance of a certain kind of criminal into ‘polite’ society”. The original 188-minute cut likely fleshed out these themes.
Many believe the "Deleted Scenes" version would have garnered the critical acclaim the theatrical version missed, as it allowed the complex plot "room to breathe."