Udta Punjab Controversy Snowballs: Bollywood reacts with Rage

A short while ago, we told you about Anurag Kashyap lashing out against the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Central government for demanding as many as 89 cuts in Udta Punjab, including all references to ‘Punjab’ (Anurag Kashyap: India has become North Korea).

Yesterday, we had also brought you the aam aadmi’s outrage over the issue (Shahid-Alia's Udta Punjab in further trouble; twitteratis castigate Censor Board, June 6).

While it’s not yet clear if Anurag will move the court to save his film, SpotboyE decided to speak to some B-Town personalities. From diplomacy to fury, the reactions varied.



Mukesh Bhatt, for one, doesn’t believe in mincing words. Targeting the Narendra Modi government, he says, “The word freedom doesn’t exist anymore. Sad to say, but true freedom of speech has been taken away. India is in the darkest period in terms of creativity. The Censor Board is asking for ridiculous amount of cuts. It’s not Pahlaj Nihalani’s (CBFC Chairman) mind this time; he is playing a stooge to the people in command. It is a shame! The day is not far when American culture will prevail upon us and American films will be seen instead of Indian films. And I will blame only & only the present government for doing so.”

Though newcomer Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, the director of recently-released Nil Battey Sannata, echoes the same sentiment, she is a little cautious with her words. She says, “I am pretty new to the industry, but I feel storytellers should tell stories they believe in as they are.”



On the other hand, Sheetal Talwar, the co-producer of Shahid Kapoor-Sonam Kapoor-starrer Mausam (2011) believes no one is above the law of the land. “Everyone has to adhere to the law. Making controversy around censorship and targeting someone (Nihalani) is stupidity. You have to sit across the table and resolve issues. I had mediated between Anurag and the CBFC during Bombay Velvet (2015). Everyone is carrying this issue too far. The war should not be fought in the media. Challenge the law, don’t challenge what Pahlaj is saying. Don’t target a person; we belong to the same fraternity,” he argues.



Says Zoya Akhtar, "It's absolutely ridiculous. How is our society supposed to learn and improve if we are in constant denial of our reality? We don't seem to have an issue with injustice, crime or oppression - we have an issue with people that point it out. This has to stop if we have to heal as a society."



There are people who don’t think that the censorship issue has anything to do with the current regime. Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur recalls, “Censorship in India has always been like this.When I made Bandit Queen (1994), we even had to move the Supreme Court to get the film released. The other tiff I had with the CBFC was when I decided not to release Elizabeth (1998) here, when they demanded cuts. If you really believe in what you have made, go fight it out. If you ask me generally about censorship, I will censor only those films that are made for kids.”



Writer Salim Khan also recalls how the CBFC had created problems for his son Salman’s 2015 blockbuster, Bajrangi Bhaijaan. “The entire film was shot with the title Bajrangi Bhaijaan, even its publicity was done accordingly. But in the end, the Censor Board dropped a bomb saying that they wanted a different title. Coming to Udta Punjab, haven’t films like Aligarh (2015) and Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008) also released here? If a place is named in the title, the place gets even more publicity. Waise bhi, which place doesn’t have drug abuse? Even if it is addressed in the film, face it.”



He adds, “Censorship has lost its relevance. Hollywood films have kisses, action... we are not allowed to show the kind of stunts they do. Even blue films are available for our kids these days. They can watch it on digital platforms. So, what’s the point in trying to censor anything? The Censors also have a problem with the portrayal of crime in films. But crimes happen in the society first, films just reflect that.”


Image Source: Indiaforum, Pvrls, Blogindia & Actorz