Still flying high: Post censor victory, Udta Punjab is now a case study

Three business schools are developing a case study on the Shahid Kapoor-Alia Bhatt starrer, as it stirred a debate about censorship in India.

Shahid Kapoor’s latest release became a talking point owing to its subject, and the film-makers’ confrontation with Pahlaj Nihalani, the chief of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Now, the film, which also stars Alia Bhatt, has caught the interest and attention of a few business schools in India.

Udta Punjab makers says the film has been a rewarding struggle and that they stood for something and that paid off in a huge manner.

“Three management institutes are developing a case study on the film, as it stirred a debate about censorship in India. The study will observe the key learnings that came out of the situations that were created around the release of the film,” says an insider.

Read: Udta Punjab: Nothing reforms society as entertainment

Apparently, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Jaipur, Nirma Business School, Ahmedabad, and International Institute of Professional Studies, Indore, “have commissioned a case study on how an opinion war and a perception battle was fought during the course of the release of the film, with it being a topic of discussion post release as well”.

“Several B-schools have taken keen interest in the film, as the controversy it was embroiled in, was widely reported. A learning from the study would be how the discussions and debates around the movie, catapulted the commercial prospects of an otherwise niche film, the main aim of which was to create awareness on the issue of drug abuse,” adds the insider.

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When contacted, producer Madhu Mantena says, “The film has been a rewarding struggle for us. We stood for something and that paid off in a huge manner. We are getting queries from various media and management colleges and institutions who want to make a PR case study on the film.”