The stakes in the ongoing tussle between the makers of Udta Punjab and the Censor Board went up markedly on Wednesday as Bollywood bigwigs threw their weight behind producer-director Anurag Kashyap. They condemned the large number of cuts proposed in the film and sought removal of the controversial Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Pahlaj Nihalani.
Meanwhile, the makers of Udta Punjab moved the Bombay High Court on Wednesday morning challenging the cuts proposed by the CBFC and later in the day told the court that they would amend their petition on Thursday based on the CBFC’s order which they received after they filed their petition.
Nihalani came in for stinging criticism from bigwigs of the Hindi film industry, film associations and those involved with the making of Udta Punjab for not only proposing a sizeable number of cuts in the film, but also making the absurd accusation that Kashyap had taken money from a political party in New Delhi to project Punjab in a bad light through his film.
Addressing a crowded Press conference, Film & Television Producers Guild of India’s president Mukesh Bhatt and Indian Film & Television Directors Association’s chief Ashoke Pandit urged the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to remove Nihalani from his post immediately.
“I demand on behalf of the entire industry... that the Ministry should remove Pahlaj Nihalani...There is a vicious system prevailing in the CBFC. The producers’ guild does not want him as the CBFC chief, we are united on this,” Bhatt said.
“Pahlaj Nihalani has rendered the entire CBFC redundant. Whatever is happening is not good. Filmmakers should be respected and encouraged for making such good issue-based cinema,” Pandit said.
Apart from Mukesh Bhatt and Pandit, Anurag Kashyap, Mahesh Bhatt, Satish Kaushik, director Rahul Dholakia, actors Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akhtar and Sudhir Mishra were among others present at the Press conference.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who has been extremely critical of the manner in which the CBFC had dealt with his film Udta Punjab said, “We don’t want a censor board, we want a certification board. It is distressing...financially distressing...they are breaking the backbone of the film industry”.
On the allegation made by Nihalani earlier in the day that he had taken money from Aam Aadmi Party, Kashyap said: “I feel ashamed to even defend myself on such an allegation. Nihalani should prove I have taken money. He does not even know how to lie”.
The filmmakers present at the news conference demanded an apology from Nihalani for making the allegation against Kashyap. “I demand an apology from Pahlaj Nihalani for his allegation against Anurag Kashyap. It is an insult to the entire film industry,” Pandit said.
In a related development, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal charged that CBFC chairman Nihalani was delaying the release of the film on the instructions of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Alluding to Nihalani’s allegation that Kashyap had received money from the AAP, Kejriwal said in a tweet: “Pahlaj Nihalani’s statement makes it amply clear that he has stopped the film on the BJP’s instructions. What else could one expect under the Modi regimeIJ”
“Efforts are being made by some people to make India like Saudi Arabia. We can’t turn into a Saudi Arabia where there is opulence but no free thought in society. I stand with Anurag Kashyap,” Mahesh Bhatt said, as he joined other filmmakers in making a pitch for the freedom of expression and speech.
The film’s lead actor Shahid Kapoor said that the youth had a right to know about the ills of drugs and everyone should support the fight. “We all need to support the message this film is sending,” the actor said.
Director of the film Abhishek Chaubey said that he and others involved in the making of the film, which is slated for release on June 17, had been pressured by the CBFC into agreeing to cuts suggested by it, so much so that at one stage, he had almost agreed to the cuts.
“The censor board is behaving like a school principal...It is a good beginning we are all fighting together,” Sudhir Mishra said.
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali said: “Anything that attacks freedom of speech and expression is frustrating and should be questioned. Good thing is we are together over here. We will see what happens”.
“You need to allow people to hold mirror to society; freedom of expression is important... Censor board can certify not censor films,” Zoya Akhtar said.
“Asking filmmakers to remove Punjab from Udta Punjab is an attack on our creative freedom,” Satish Kaushik said.