“It’s an extremely well-made film but it also points out to a rather unfortunate fact that drugs routed from Central Asia to Afghanistan come into India via Punjab and the state is vulnerable to this kind of infiltration, which has caused problems over a period of time”, he told a TV news channel.
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For the past two weeks, Udta Punjab has been flying high on controversy.
The film Udta Punjab deals with drug use in the northern Indian state and is scheduled for release in just over a week.
Kashyap, who is known for being outspoken, on Tuesday went on a Twitter rant to hit out at Nihalani for his dictatorial ways.
Taking a potshot at Kashyap, who is the face of the fight against the Censor Board, Nihalani claimed he has heard that the filmmaker had taken money from AAP to show Punjab in bad light.”I’ve heard Anurag Kashyap has taken money from AAP to show Punjab in bad light”, Nihalani claimed. “My best wishes to the team that it gets justice at the Tribunal”.
The Censor Board has suggested nearly 89 cuts in the movie. It is not for the first time that Nihalani has locked horns with filmmakers over censorship issues.
Co-produced by Phantom Films and Balaji Motion Pictures, ‘ Udta Punjab’ stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Punjabi singer- actor Diljit Dosanjh.
Currently, it is understood that the revising committee met Friday and asked the filmmakers to effect 89 cuts.
Ashwini Chaudhary, the secretary of Indian Films and Television Directors Association promised to fight till the matter reaches a logical solution. “He does not even know how to lie”, said Kashyap.
Anurag Kashyap has said that he felt blackmailed throughout his battle with the Censor Board over the certification for his upcoming movie “Udta Punjab”.
“The way Nihalani is dealing is trying to discourage producers to make this kind of movie”.
At the Congress briefing, party spokesman Ajoy Kumar said the controversy of “Udta Punjab” is the BJP’s and RSS’s “standard operating procedure”.
“The censor board is behaving like a school principal.It is a good beginning we are all fighting together”, Sudhir Mishra said.
“Yes, I am a chamcha of Narendra Modi as Anurag Kashyap said”.
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”. We are in constant denial of what is going on in the society. On the 3rd, we viewed the film and on the 6th, they had to bring it in with cuts – which they did not and on the 7th, they went to the media.
A state poll is due in Punjab early next year.
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