"Only makers can give an answer to this," actor Rajkummar Rao said on Tuesday, sidestepping queries about the trailer of his new film "Bheed" that was pulled from social media only to be re-released with edits.
Last week, there were reports that the trailer of the Anubhav Sinha directorial was pulled down from YouTube amid backlash over negative depiction of COVID-19 lockdown. The new trailer has allegedly removed references regarding Partition 1947 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech announcing nationwide lockdown in March 2020.
Rao, who was joined by his co-star Ashutosh Rana, said only Sinha could answer the queries related to the film's trailer. Sinha, also serves as producer on "Bheed" via Benaras Mediaworks along with Bhushan Kumar's T-Series, gave the event a miss.
"Only makers can give an answer to this. I don't cut the trailer or put it on social media. This is not my responsibility. It's a creative decision. Only Anubhav sir can only tell you about it, and you will meet him soon," Rao told reporters here.
"Bheed" is a sociopolitical drama that is a one-day story set during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film, shot in black and white, also stars Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur, and Dia Mirza.
Asked why the team decided to shoot "Bheed" in the black-and-white format, Rana said life's tragedies are never colourful, they are always black or white.
"It's said that before the Big Bang, earth was draped in deep darkness. When the Big Bang happened, there was light all over. When we come of that black-and-white zone, only then does our life become a rainbow of seven colours.
"In 'Bheed', we are talking about the coronavirus tragedy that brought those mighty humans to their knees who have travelled from Mars to all different planets in the universe. That virus forced us humans to stay cooped up in our 4x4 houses. The pandemic was a black-and-white era," the actor added.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a tragedy that affected people from all walks of life, he said.
"A disaster is like the gravitational force of the earth. It doesn't discriminate between a good person and bad person, upper caste or lower caste, or Hindu or Muslim. "A disaster doesn't differentiate on the basis of class, colour, caste, religion, country, time, or circumstances. When a human comes in contact with a disaster, all of their specialties are rendered useless, and when that happens, they become part of 'Bheed' (a crowd)," Rana said.
On the ever-evolving definition of heroes, Rao said for him frontline workers are real-life heroes.
"Heroes come from our society. During the pandemic-induced lockdown, so many people came forward to help each other. All of them, our frontline workers, those who are on the border, are heroes for me," the National Award winner said.
"A hero is someone who has the capability to attract society, who considers his energy that of the society. If you want to be special ('khaas') become ordinary ('aam'). That's why mango ('aam') is the king of fruits, not guava ('amrood')," added Rana.
"Bheed" also features Virendra Saxena, Aditya Shrivastav, Kritika Kamra, and Karan Pandit. It is scheduled to be released on Friday.
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