Udta Punjab controversy : Nihalni says charges baseless

 “Only if one sees the film can one understand why the word Punjab was deleted,” he told NDTV in what came as his first reaction to the mounting criticism, especially from the film fraternity that the changes sought to be forced upon the film were taken at the behest of the ruling dispensation at the Centre.

But Nihalni claimed that the Centre never interferes with the Censor Board. 

The makers of Bollywood film “Udta Punjab” were reportedly asked by the revised committee of the Censor Board to remove all references to Punjab as the film deals with the problem of drugs among the youth  that many view as having been inappropriately linked to the state to show it in a bad light.

The matter went to the revised committee after the Censor Board denied the film a certificate over “excessive swearing”.

The film, directed by Abhishek Choubey is starred by a Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh. It  delves into how the youth there have succumbed to drugs.

It caused chagrin for few political parties, especially Punjab's Shrimoni Akali Dal, which is a partner of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance as they feel the film will spell a disaster for their electoral fortune when Punjab is only nine months away from the Assembly polls.

Coming down heavily on the Censor Board diktat, the film's co-producer Anurag Kashyap has been on record as saying that he feels he lives in an oligarchic country like North Korea and that Pahlaj Nihalni is an "egoistic" person.

 Kashyap has insisted that the word “Punjab” cannot be separated from his film.

“It is absolutely not possible to cut references to Punjab...“The film is not anti-Akali or anti-BJP, it is anti-drugs. A film about how youth are losing lives," he has said.

While many film personalities have been up in arms against the Censor Board, particularly Nihalni for the act that has created an unprecented furore, it took a political turn with the opposition Congress reacting strongly on it.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday had said that Punjab has a crippling drug problem and censoring Udta Punjab will not fix it. He said the government must accept the reality and find solutions to end the menace. The ruling party in Punjab, Akali Dal, had objected to the movie.

"Punjab has a crippling drug problem. Censoring Udta Punjab will not fix it. The government must accept the reality and find solutions," Rahul said.

The Janata Dal United (JDU) party too  has raised its voice, demanding Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani’s dismissal. The party backed the movie saying that the film shows the ‘real face’ of Punjab.

However, the film’s co-producer Anurag Kashyap asked the political parties to stay out of the controversy and said he will “fight his own battle”.

The A-listers took to their Twitter handles to share their thought on the on-going row.

"Power is the most dangerous addiction of all & someone in the CBFC seems to be tripping hard on Lassi in the Sky with Diamonds. #UdtaPunjab," tweeted Farhan Akhtar.

"U know a lot of people in our fraternity speak up for other causes, it's time we stood up for our own. #UdtaPunjab deserves a proper release," said Arjun Kapoor.

"#UdtaPunjab think the govt. needs to answer. If CBFC is out of control it's worrisome, if the CBFC is being controlled more worrisome," wrote Vikram Bhatt.

"When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar,you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say. #UdtaPunjab," read Gauri Shinde's tweet.

"Anyone who says that drugs are not a problem in punjab is either unaware,complicit or has malafide intention #UdtaPunjab @_phoenix_fire_," tweeted Soha Ali Khan.

Alia Bhatt, one of the leads of the movie tweeted a quote of Malala Yousafzai that says, "We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced."

Earlier, film-makers Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap too took to Twitter to raise their voice of protest against the cencorship issue.

With a reference to the dictator regime of North Korea, the 'Dev-D' director added his voice to the actors and film-makers, who have accused the Board of interfering with artistic freedom.

"I always wondered what it felt like to live in North Korea .. Ab to plane pakadney ki bhi zaroorat nahin..," Kashyap tweeted.

"There is no film more honest than UDTA PUNJAB .. And any person or party opposing it is actually GUILTY of promoting drugs," he said.

The 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' director on his part said the Bollywood fraternity must stand by what is right.

"#UdtaPunjab speaks of the reality of our times....censoring reality amounts to delusion.....the fraternity has to stand by what's right!!" wrote KJo.

The protest does not limit till the film fraternity. Cricketer Harbhajan Singh too tweeted that if 'Udta Punjab' shows reality of the state, "what's wrong with it then?"

"Nt a movie buff bt if #UdtaPunjab showing rightly whats happening in punjab what's wrong with it then ? We want our punjab drug free state," wrote Harbhajan.

"#Udtapunjab known for better things like love,peace,bhaichara,culture,respect,freedom fighters,spotsmans,music,I m a proud PUNJABI nd INDIAN," he added.