While the trailer and songs of Udta Punjab have got almost everyone excited about the film, there’s one body of individuals who are none too pleased with the final output after having seen it before the common public. We’re talking about the moral custodians of Indian cinema, the censor board, and the latest target of their ire is the Abhishek Chaubey-directed film.
According to Bollywood Hungama, this time the censors weren't content with slaughtering the creativity of the film by recommending numerous cuts. The powers-that-be at the board have decided to stall the release of Udta Punjab altogether by refusing to certify it. The reason given is the numerous swear words littered across the dialogues, which, in all fairness, seems like a realistic outlook considering the film deals with the drug menace gripping Punjab at the moment.
However, there’s another theory behind the board’s refusal to certify the film that’s doing the rounds –Punjab’s ruling political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), is said to have expressed concerns over the portrayal of the state and its drug-related issues in the film. With state elections a year away, they’re not too happy with the film’s content, and feel that it resembles the allegations other political outfits like Congress and AAP are directing at SAD. But, one of SAD’s MLAs, Virsa Singh Valhota, assured that the party wouldn’t seek a ban on the film merely because it’s centered on drug abuse. They only want to ensure that the filmmakers haven’t depicted Punjabis in a poor light.
It’s also being reported that the makers of Udta Punjab have already approached the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) even though they had the option of going to the censor board’s revising committee. The reason behind Anurag Kashyap and the rest of the producer’s decision stems from their worry that the revising committee may ask them to accept some cuts, and with just three weeks to go for the film’s release, they aren’t ready to compromise on any of the content at this point in time. FCAT has been known to certify films leniently in the past, even sex comedies, and it’s this reputation that the makers of Udta Punjab are banking on.
Udta Punjab stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Diljit Dosanjh in key roles. It’s slated to release on 17th June 2016.
