Vivek Agnihotri says ‘cowards only censor what exposes their ugly face’ amid Emergency CBFC clearance delay

Vivek Agnihotri has seemingly reacted to CBFC causing a roadblock for Kangana's Emergency. He said that other sources of fake news should be curbed instead.

Actor Kangana Ranaut has extended her support to filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri's call for censorship on ‘TV debates, political speeches, and religious sermons’. He said that these are the ‘real sources of fake news’. This comes amid a delay in the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) clearance for Kangana's upcoming film Emergency. (Also Read | Varun Grover supports Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency amid release delay)

Vivek Agnihotri has spoken about censorship.

Vivek talks about censorship amid Emergency row

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Vivek Agnihotri wrote, "CENSORSHIP: No creative expression should ever be censored—that's my personal view. But if you still insist on censorship, why not start with TV debates, news programs, political speeches, and religious sermons? These are often the real sources of fake news, division, hate, and violence."

"If you feel it maligns you or hurts your sentiments, then you should develop some spine to take that criticism. If it doesn’t present your side, create something that presents your case. After all, cowards only censor what exposes their ugly face," he also tweeted.

Kangana supports Vivek

Taking to her Instagram Stories, Kangana simply shared a screenshot of the tweet and attached the link to it. She, however, didn't caption the post.

Kangana simply shared a screenshot of the tweet.

What is the Emergency row?

On Tuesday, Zee Entertainment Enterprises moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the CBFC to issue certificate for the film Emergency, helmed by Kangana. Zee Entertainment is the producer of the film. Scheduled for release on September 6, the biographical drama is caught up in controversy after Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong.

The petition before the high court claimed that the CBFC has "illegally and arbitrarily" withheld the certification. As per a lawyer, the petition claimed that the Censor board was ready with the certificate, but not issuing it. The plea was mentioned before a division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla for an urgent hearing. Kangana, who has directed and co-produced the film besides playing the lead role of former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi, on Monday accused the CBFC of stalling certification to delay the release.

with PTI inputs