Film Directors versus Censor Board 

    CBFC has not been too kind to the creativity displayed by filmmakers. It has adamantly been fierce to films which showcase reality of society. Besides these, cuss words, intimacy and violence have always been on their radar for removal. 

   Joining hands with Udta Punjab, many A-lister directors have come in support of the 

extreme delay caused by the board, unjustified cuts which may lead to heavy losses for the film and a postponed release. 

   On Wednesday, the Indian Film and Television Directors Association (IFTDA) held a press conference in support of the 'Udta Punjab' team and protested against Pahlaj Nihalani and the functioning of the CBFC. The message that was sent across was loud and clear — This is not Anurag Kashyap's fight alone. 10,000 members of the IFTDA stand by him.

   Filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt even demanded that Nihalani be sacked with immediate effect. He said, "This has never happened before. The makers have applied for certification on May 10. The CBFC didn't give anything in writing for the makers to approach the Tribunal. This is a manipulative game and so is the corrupt system of the CBFC. You are holding a producer to ransom. Anurag got a letter of the cuts on Wednesday (June 8) when the film is slated to release on June 17. The producers have to send the film overseas a week before its release and Nihalani is aware of that. He is from the film industry. What he has done is shameful and he doesn't deserve to sit on that chair. On behalf of the film industry, I appeal to the ministry to sack him immediately. I spoke to members of Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT). They said that these guys (CBFC) were aware that the FCAT head is going on leave from June 1. This is a vicious move by the CBFC." He added, "I want to expose the bluff of Pahlaj Nihalani. How much time does it take for the CBFC to send that letter to the FCAT? Everything is verbal for him. He keeps things in his drawer. The film may incur losses of `60 cr. Who is going to pay for this? This is an unpardonable kind of exploitation by a state organisation.

   Anurag, co-producer of 'Udta Punjab', said, "The film doesn't refer to any political party or politician. These letters don't mention the number of cuts. They mention words that need to be removed. For instance, I am told that the word Punjab comes 94 times in the movie. We are hoping to release the film as per the schedule on June 17. The FCAT head is not available till June 16, so we are going to request them to give us a window before that. We have to follow up and see what happens."

   About Nihalani, he added, "How can one man decide the country's morality? When Nihalani became the Chairman, Maheshji (Bhatt) said that "Humaare beech ka aadmi chairperson bana hai. It's good." Surprisingly, the number of films going to the Tribunal in the past two years has increased in record numbers. Have our films become so bad in the past two years that every film is required to go to the Tribunal? Nihalani lies through his teeth. He was supposed to send us the letter on Monday. After it didn't reach us, we sent a letter to his office on June 7 requesting him to send us an official letter. We have a copy of it, signed by his office. He only sent the letter recommending the cuts after we moved the Bombay High Court. I don't want to go through the humiliation of talking to him. I am accused of taking money from AAP, which is untrue. I feel ashamed to defend myself."

      Director of the film Abhishek Chaubey said, "Since these meetings for certification have been going on, I was so stressed that I told the team that let's leave it and release the film with the cuts. I feared that even if the film releases, someone will drag us to court, leading to further controversies. Who has the time? But then I realised if we back out now, we will set a wrong example of not addressing subjects like these, where one cannot take names of people or places in their movies."

   Actor Shahid Kapoor added, "The youth have a right to know that drugs are a menace. They are entitled to know what can happen to them if they go this way. It's important to support the message."

The Bombay High Court refreshingly is open to use of City Names and Punjab Signage's and will hear the case today. 

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