New Delhi, Dec 14

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra is upset that his forthcoming film "Tera Kya Hoga Johnny" has been given an 'A' certificate that entitles only adults to view the film. Nevertheless, he feels it is better than altering his storytelling to please the censors.

"Tera Kya..." traces the psyche of individuals trapped in extreme circumstances with four short stories based in the murky lanes of Mumbai.

"This is a film that everyone should watch. What is shown in the film is a hundred times milder than what actually happens on the streets of Mumbai. We wanted this film to reach a wider audience and make them aware of an aspect of Mumbai that they ignore or don't even know about. But I'd rather go with the adult certificate than compromise on the storytelling," said Mishra.

The censor board is believed to have objected to a scene where a cop is shown making sexual advances to a boy. Mishra was also asked to snip off some expletives if he wanted a U/A certificate for the film. Apparently, the censors also objected to certain shots where people were shown trading in and consuming cocaine.

But Mishra wasn't ready to compromise on his creative freedom.

"All these scenes are key to the very essence of the film and to the characters being portrayed. So making any of the changes would have meant changing what I was trying to convey in the first place," he said.

The film, featuring debutant Sikandar Agarwal, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Shahana Goswami, Kay Kay Menon, Soha Ali Khan, among others, was scheduled to release Friday, but has now been delayed until Dec 31.