Udta Punjab is not banned, the Bollywood film’s makers have said following reports that the Indian censor board stopped the release of the movie.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, the movie’s co-producer, on Saturday took to social media to put an end to rumours surrounding the ban on the film.
“A film is banned only when examining, revising and [Film Certification Appellate Tribunal] FCAT — all three refuse certificate. And then you fight it out in Supreme Court.
“And due process takes it own time, so please abstain for spreading a BAN rumour. There is nothing to speak on the subject as of now. For the record, Udta Punjab is not banned. The examining committee has deferred the decision to revising and due process is on,” he tweeted.
The Central Board of Film Certification has also denied rejecting the film.
“We have not rejected the film. The process is on for it. There were some differences between the committee and makers. I don’t know why [the producers] are saying the film is not cleared,” CBFC official Anurag Srivastav said.
According to earlier media reports, the CBFC stopped the release Udta Punjab, citing “excessive swearing, abusive language and drug consumption”.
The film, which stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh, revolves around drug abuse in the north of Punjab.
The Abhishek Chaubey directorial has been co-produced by Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl as part of their Phantom Films banner, along with Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Aman Gill and Sameer Nair.
Aman Gill, CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures Ltd, said: “To set the record straight, Udta Punjab has not been banned. The examining committee has referred the decision to the revising committee and the due process is on.”
