Punjab HC sends notice to Government of India, CBFC over Udta Punjab

Even as the Bombay high court on Monday cleared roads for the release of Anurag Kashyap’s Udta Punjab, the Punjab and Haryana high court issued a show-cause notice to the Government of India, the CBFC and producers of the movie as to why the public exhibition of the movie should not be restrained.

Even as the Bombay high court on Monday cleared roads for the release of Anurag Kashyap’s Udta Punjab, the Punjab and Haryana high court issued a show-cause notice to the Government of India, the CBFC and producers of the movie as to why the public exhibition of the movie should not be restrained.

Shahid Kapoor plays Tommy Singh, a rockstar in Udta Punjab.

The order came minutes after the movie was cleared by the Bombay High Court with one cut and a modification in the disclaimer.

The HC also ordered a special screening of Anurag Kashyap’s film Udta Punjab before a panel on Tuesday to examine its content and submit its report on Thursday. The single-judge bench of justice M Jeyapaul appointed Bombay high court lawyer Sujay N Kantawala as amicus curaie and directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and Phantom Movies Private Limited, the makers of the movie, to arrange the special screening on Tuesday.

Anurag Kashyap finally managed to get Shahid Kapoor-starrer Udta Punjab cleared without any major cuts.

Read: Can’t randomly pick words and raise objections, Bombay HC tells CBFC

‘Punjabi culture shown in poor light’
The order came on the petition of the high court lawyer and Jalandhar resident Wattan Sharma, who had approached the court stating that the unedited version of the movie be examined by it. The petitioner had also sought directions to restrain the release of the movie till the court decision.

Read: How CBFC made Udta Punjab bleed

Alia Bhatt plays an aspiring hockey player in Udta Punjab.

The court was told that Punjabi culture had been portrayed in “bad light”. “The film reflects negative branding of Punjab and Punjabis, especially the youth. If the film is released, it will have adverse repercussions all over Punjab,” the court was told. The petitioner had cited reports on the film’s controversy, stating that it was also being alleged that a political party had a role to play in its production.

The petition was mentioned for urgent hearing in the morning, and taken up post lunch. During the hearing, justice Jeyapaul enquired from the petitioner about the issue being adjudicated before the Bombay high court. However, the petitioner said that the matter before the Bombay high court related to a challenge made by the producer against the inaction of the revision committee of the CBFC.

Watch Shahid Kapoor in the title track of Udta Punjab

Read: We respect court’s verdict, says CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani

Besides Kantawala, representatives of the petitioner, central government and CBFC are at liberty to watch the special screening.

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