New Delhi, June 8 (IANS Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday accused censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani of censoring Udta Punjab, a film about the drug menace in the border state, on the direction of the Centre.
Nihalani, who heads the Central Board of Film Certification, earlier alleged that he had heard that co-producer Anurag Kashyap had “taken money from the AAP” to show Punjab in a bad light through the film and said this was the talk in the industry.
“Pahlaj Nihalani’s statement (linking Kashyap with the AAP) makes it amply clear he has stopped the film on BJP’s instructions,” Kejriwal tweeted.
With Punjab due for assembly elections in January next year, the controversy has assumed political overtones.
The Congress and AAP, which fancies its chances in the northern state, criticised the board. The two parties also accused Punjab’s ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance of exercising influence to “censor” the movie.
The SAD, an NDA partner in power in Punjab for nine years, says the film tarnishes the image of the state and its people.
The makers of Udta Punjab – Kashyap’s Phantom Films and Balaji Motion Pictures – have been asked by the censor board to make 89 cuts if they wanted a release certificate.
Kashyap also dragged the censor board to the Bombay high court on Wednesday over the controversy surrounding his film.
The 43-year-old filmmaker took on Nihalani, accusing him of operating like an oligarch for ordering the cuts prompting Nihalani’s counter. Kashyap, however, said they were waiting for an “official letter” from the board.
The producers have asked for a copy of the order passed by the censor board’s review committee on May 3, purportedly suggesting cuts in the Shahid Kapoor-starrer and removal of all references to Punjab.
The censor chief, in an exclusive interview to Hindustan Times, hit back at Kashyap, saying the film was littered with expletives and vilified Punjab.
“Mr Kashyap is like a child being denied a toy. He loves to make a noise every time a film directed or produced by him is released. And since he makes a lot of movies, he also makes a lot of noise,” Nihalani said.
Nihalani denied allegations that he was under pressure from the Centre to censor the film. The board was being allowed to do its job, he said.
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(This story has not been edited by BDC staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed from IANS.)
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