Mallika's item number was not needed in 'Tezz': Priyadarshan

Bollywood bombshell Mallika Sherawat's latest item number 'Laila' in Priyadarshan's forthcoming action thriller, 'Tezz' has not apparently gone down well with the director as he says it was not required and was added just for promotions.

"I never wanted the item song in the film but the producers (Ratan Jain of Venus) said we are a musical company and hence it came in the film. They went ahead with it and producers naturally are always right as they spend money all the time. I did not want to do it, so they shot it without me, but that is fine," Priyadarshan told PTI in an interview.
"The song in 'Tezz' is not needed. It is placed without any connection. But such things they do for promotions... and that is what they mean. 'Tezz' is not a musical film, it is an action film, so they feel item songs and all are important for promotion. I don't know whether they are right or me," he said.

Mallika is seen grooving in a copper outfit to the item number sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, choreographed by Ganesh Acharya and composed by music duo Sajid-Wajid. Reportedly, three names had cropped for this song – Mallika Sherawat, Sameera Reddy and Jiah Khan.

The filmmaker insists he is not against the idea of having item numbers in a film but all he says is there must be reason for it to be part of the movie.

"I am basically against item songs, which are put in the film without any reason. I have also shot item numbers, but only when it is needed. It should go with the film and it should not stand separately without any connection with the movie," he said.
With 'Tezz', Priyan has for first time dabbled in genre of action-thrillers.

"I made a thriller because this is something I have never done before. And that is basically because I believe in all kind of cinema. I know I took some time to make a thriller but it never struck me. But I really wanted to do a thriller like Hollywood style," the director said.

"And to make a thriller of Hollywood stature requires good budget, right subject and now everything came in place. That is why I did it. I was very happy when Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) said I am seeing a Hindi film which looks like an English film, so it is a good compliment coming from my competitor-colleague," he said.

'Tezz' stars Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani, Kangna Ranaut, Zayed Khan, Sameera Reddy and Mohanlal.

The film took quite some time to release, as it was earlier scheduled to hit cinema houses last year and then in March this year. Now it will screens on April 27.

"There was a delay because we had so much of graphic work and other technical things to do. I never took so much of time in my whole career to make a film. But this film took almost one-and-half-year, there were lot of difficulties. The action was difficult, then we were working with foreign crew...so we had two teams, they are too slow to work and we are too fast. But it was a great experience. I could learn many things from them," Priyadarshan said.

The high-fi action sequences in the film are directed by Gareth Milne and Peter Pedrero, who are also behind the stunts of films like 'Harry Potter'.

Ask the filmmaker if he ever thought of making it in 3D, "No, I don’t think 'Tezz' demands to be made in 3D. It is a fast pace action-thriller. Even in Hollywood they don't make all films in 3D.. they make only those which they feel will get right impact. 'Tezz' is not a right film. The thought of making or converting some portions of the film in 3D never came to my mind. When a film is fast paced, the effect of 3D does not go with it."

Priyadarshan, who has made several South and Hindi films in his career of over three decades, is the recipient of the Padma Shri and the National Award.

"I have been in the industry for quite some time, I have got a National award for my Tamil film, 'Kanchivaram'..then this year I got Padma Shri, so now there is nothing new to look for except Oscars," he concluded.