New Delhi: Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani, who has been at the receiving end of criticism, has came down strongly on co-producer of ‘Udta Punjab’ Anurag Kashyap. Anurag, has been opposing the cuts and suggested name change of the title which suggested that ‘Punjab’ should be dropped off the title.
The producer lashed out at the chief of the Central Board of Film Certification, in a series of tweets, calling him a ‘dictator’ and even likening India to North Korea. At the receiving end in the line of fire, Nihalani who was tight-lipped until now has said that Anurag is making the fight personal. During an interaction with the press, Nihalani said,
“I am not getting personal, it is Anurag Kashyap who is making personal allegations against me.”
The suggestion of removing of ‘Punjab’ from the title had left cine buffs in frenzy. But seems, Pahlaj Nihalani is also hell bent to prove his point as how the movie is tarnishing the image of the state.
During his interview to a daily, Pahlaj said,
“Udta Punjab claims to mirror the truth about the whole of Punjab. According to the film, 70% of the youngsters are drug addicts. Where did they get this figure from? The film’s dialogue explicitly states Punjab is banjar (barren) land and the people are kanjar (wayward, promiscuous). Tell me is this not vilifying the whole of Punjab?”
Speaking about Kashyap, Pahlaj said,
“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. I believe he has called me an extremely egotistical man.”
When argued that at the end of the day, ‘Udta Punjab’ is a work of fiction and that it should be given a green signal. To this Pahlaj said, “What is the disclaimer worth when after claiming to be a work of fiction the film proceeds to name every major town in Punjab from Amritsar to Tarn Taran as a drug den?”
Earlier, the hard hitting movie which talks about substance abuse in Punjab, locked horns with the Censor Board because of the use of cuss words. Pahlaj, said that though he had problems with that, he let it go. He added,
“Almost every line that Shahid Kapoor speaks is filled with the most explicit abuses and gaalis (expletives) that even I had never heard. We said ok let him abuse when his character is under the influence of drugs. But, why should he talk like that when normal? Who speaks like that in everyday conversations? We’ve even allowed Alia Bhatt to abuse. But we couldn’t allow Punjab to be damned and labeled a drug haven.”
The fight between the team of the movie and the makers turned into a political slugfest when parties like Congress and AAP, alleged that the 89 said cuts and name change has a political motive. Coming out clean on this Pahlaj said to another leading daily,
“The Centre never interferes with the Censor Board, there was no political influence.”
