The court also said if the movie was glorifying the use of drugs, then it should be banned. During a hearing held on Friday, the high court noted that people must be allowed to watch whatever they want on television or cinema as “everybody has a choice”.
Advertisement
Anurag Kashyap, who is one of the producers of Udta Punjab, has been fighting with Censor Board since a very long time for his every film. The two parties also accused Punjab’s ruling SAD-BJP alliance of exercising influence to “censor” the movie.
On the overdose of expletives or cuss words, the judges said these do not contribute to the success of a film as today’s generation is very direct, open and a lot mature. “Kanjar” can be replaced as the word throws a bad light on the state that Punjab is an “upjau” (fertile) state.
A dog has been named as Jackie Chan in the film.
The “Bombay Velvet” director said Pahlaj Nihalani has been lying and pressuring them to delay the release of the film, slated to hit theatres on June 17.
The film’s producers are locked in a bitter battle with Nihalani for demanding multiple cuts in the movie besides allegedly asking them to remove Punjab from its title.
Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer Udta Punjab, which is nearing for the release, has landed itself in a major controversy.
Earlier celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Karan Johar have voiced their support for the team of “Udta Punjab”, saying that there should be certification not censorship.
Bombay High Court will pronounce its order on the matter on June 13.
“If Goa can be shown as a place of drug abuse, what is wrong if Punjab is shown in “Udta Punjab”,” the judge asked the CBFC.
“Majitha town, like Mexico, is the epicentre of the drugs trade in Punjab”. “Rahul has been consistently raising the issue of (consumption of) drugs in Punjab. The situation has now gone from bad to worse as the Akalis never bothered to tackle the problem”, Congress state leader Rana Gurjeet Singh said.
Advertisement
Kadam went on to argue that references to Punjab in the film were in the context of the theme and did not form a substantial part of the dialogues and the script.
