In what is being seen as a major victory for the entire film industry, the Bombay High Court has cleared the release of Udta Punjab with just one cut.
The movie, slated for release on June 17, will be screened with an ‘A’ certificate. One scene, where the protagonist, Shahid Kapoor, is shown micturating in public, has to be cut.
Passing the landmark order, a Division Bench comprising Justices SC Dharmadhikari and Shalini Phansalkar, directed the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) to certify the movie within 48 hours and asked the production house to modify the disclaimer. The movie is largely based on a cardinal issue, drugs, in the Punjab.
The movie, which has Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor in leading roles, talks about a pertinent issue that might wipe out a generation in that State. Per a study, about two-thirds of all rural households in Punjab had at least one drug addict in 2009.
“Barring the deletion of the urination scene as directed by the Board and modification of the disclaimer, the June 6 order passed by the CBFC’s revising committee directing for a total of 13 changes in the movie is quashed and set aside,” the court said.
‘Change with the times’ It also asked the film regulatory body to “not act like a grandmother and change with times”. The court also reminded the CBFC that its role is limited to certification and not censorship.
Phantom Films, the production house of Udta Punjab , had moved the Bombay High Court after the CBFC had ordered the deletion of a number of scenes because they contained violence and expletives. CBFC had also ordered deletion of words such as “government” and “Punjab” from the movie.
Hailing the judgment as a victory for creativity, the Bollywood fraternity said the CBFC imposes unnecessary restrictions and these not only curb creativity but also result in huge losses.
Nikhil Rodrigues, a Mumbai-based lawyer whose firm deals with movie-related litigation, said the “CBFC should stick to certification under the Cinematograph Act, wherein the word ‘censor’ is not mentioned”.
Analysts are of the view that the controversy could make the movie Shahid Kapoor’s highest grosser ever with opening day collections of ₹14-20 crore.
“The whole issue seems to have been driven with a political agenda. However, this has given enough publicity to the movie,” said Komal Nahta, a well-known film analyst.
Udta Punjab topped the trending list on Twitter on Monday as twitterati hailed the judgment as a victory for freedom of expression.
Phantom Films head honcho Anurag Kashyap, who has been vociferous in his criticism of the film certification board, tweeted “I Believe”.
Meanwhile, debutant Shlok Sharma’s Haraamkhor , starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Shweta Tripathi, about an illicit relationship between a 14-year-old girl and her teacher, is said to have run afoul of the CBFC.