Pawan Kalyan’s latest action-drama They Call Him OG, directed by Sujeeth, released last Thursday and received mixed to positive word of mouth. But missing from the theatrical cut was the much-buzzed-about special song, featuring Neha Shetty, which was reportedly shot in Bangkok last year. The actor herself had teased the shoot on social media, which only fuelled speculation. Naturally, fans were puzzled when the song was nowhere to be found on release day.

OG’s music director Thaman has now cleared the air in a recent interview. “We felt the song disturbed the film’s flow, so it was removed. Now, we found a way to weave the song in the film” he admitted, adding that the team reworked its placement. The track will officially be added to screenings from Monday.

OG sees Kalyan in a ferocious new avatar, with Emraan Hashmi making his Telugu debut as underworld figure Omi Bhau. Priyanka Arul Mohan, Prakash Raj, Sriya Reddy, Arjun Das and Shaam round out the ensemble.

Set against the turbulence of 1980s Bombay, OG casts Kalyan as Ojas Gambheera, a man emerging from exile to take on the rising mafia. Sujeeth’s stylised staging, aided by cinematographers Ravi K Chandran and Manoj Paramahamsa, Navin Nooli’s editing, and Thaman’s music, ensures the gangster saga has swagger.

Meanwhile, DVV Entertainment is reportedly lining up a success meet in Hyderabad on Wednesday to celebrate the film’s run. The CE review of the film notes, “And that’s the story of OG. A giant balloon inflated for three years finally escaping the hype factory, not with a bang, but with a slow, embarrassingly long sigh. A spectacle that kept promising blood and thunder, but leaves you in the theatre like Gambheera himself, lips twitching, staring into the void waiting for that Firestorm that is never arriving!”