 Digital censorship of Mumbai Express
 Scotching speculation that Mumbai Express could be arriving late, Kamal Haasan, in his own inimitable style, announced to the world on March 28th night that the film, being made in both Tamil and Hindi, will be released on Tamil New Year day as scheduled.
In the process, the film will have the honour of being the first film in South India to be censored in the digital format -- perhaps with a view to save time. Kamal profusely thanked the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, Sharmila Tagore, and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for agreeing to censor the film on the digital formay. "I'm not sure if this is the first Indian film to be censored in this nanner. There might be someone in Mumbai who has done it earlier. But this must be the first film from the South to be censored in this
nanner."
 Kamal dismissed speculation about whether the censors would fear misuse of the certificate given to a digital film. Even the regular film prints which are certified by the censors can be misused. For which action is taken by them. In the same way, those responsible for interpolations in this format too can be proceeded against.
Shooting in a digital format enables saving of film rolls in a big way. In the case of Mumbai Express, there was a saving of over Rs one crore in just film rolls. However, Kamal feels that the saving would be meaningful only in the case of big budget films. For the small-budget films, there may not be much of a difference.
The news is that Kamal's name in the film is also Mumbai Express. As if we would miss it, the film's publicity material also describes him as the Engine. There are many heroines who would not mind being the compartments, while there are many actors who would not mind being mere passengers in the film!
 Kamal describes the film as a breezy comedy. "In fact, there is no attempt at comedy. The actors play the part and the result is the audience will be laughing no end." The Indian love for spicy fare transcends cultural barriers, Idli and sambar is as popular in the North as in Tandoori Chicken in the South. Mumbai Express is such a recipe that is bound to captivate audiences as it crosses the Vindhyas and thunders across the Indian sub continent.
For an audience that has seen many comedies, Mumbai Xpress is a new and rare treat. The story revolves around a young boy and the movie as such has been conceptualised keeping the young viewer in mind. The appearance of sexy sirens Rakhi Sawant and Mun Mun at the beginning of the movie does not detract from the fact that this is but a wholesome family entertainer.
The 10-year-old Hardik, the 23-year-old (and wobbly) horse, Charlie and Munna the monkey, who makes a short and charming appearance -- all these are but surprise bonuses.
 One would think that after having played so many different roles, Kamal Haasan would come up empty handed when trying to create a new character. One couldn’t be more wrong. Look at Avinash. Is he stupid or is he naive? Is he brave or is he foolhardy? Is he an ordinary man or a super hero? In fact he is all that and more.
Manisha Koirala, Sharat Saxena, Nazar, Santhana Bharathi, Ramesh Aravind, Pasupathy, Dheena, Kovai Sarala, Vaiyapuri, compete for your attention as they portray their characters brilliantly.
The film takes you by surprise -- throwing stomach-churning incidents at you in the cloak of hilarity. Children sing Vande Mataram. Ordinary enough you say. But not so when you add the fact that Kamal Haasan is in the background hanging from steel cables at a height of almost 150 feet, trying to clamber to safety.
 For the first time in the history of Indian Cinema, the hero walks to the tip of a boom of a tower crane perched on the 36th floor of a high rise building. No dupes for Kamal Haasan here. Just a lot of gasps of fear and awe from the audience.
Jumbo jets are part of the cast making you wonder how they orchestrated their movement. Aiming for this precise effect, Kamal had a slum set erected near the airport. With production design by Samir Chanda, Art director Nitin Wable and his assistant Subrato make a grand and impressive debut.
Siddharth will be a trail blazer in the Indian world of Digital Film making.
Singeetham Srinivasa Rao and Kamal Haasan the team that gave you Pesum Padam and Aboorva Sagotharargal bring to you Mumbai Express.
 "Kamal’s screenplay simply bubbles with zest," says Singeetham. In his opinion, never in his entire career has he ever seen a script that balances complexity so seamlessly with the appeal to the common man, as this one does.
The stunt scenes directed by Vikram Dharma are bound to stir awe among the audiences as Kamal races over Dharavi roof tops, dangles from incredible heights and flirts with danger with an insouciance that sets never on edges.
Disclaimer: The Producers do not warrant or assume any responsibility for injuries sustained by persons sitting on the edge of the seat during tense sequences and/or by inadvertently falling off the seats while laughing, says Kamal.
R Rangaraj
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