This Journalist Live-Tweeted The Court Ruling For Udta Punjab And It Was Savage

The filmmakers of Udta Punjab had approached the Bombay High Court in retaliation of the 89 cuts ordered by the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) and the entire situation was supposed to reach its climax today as the court ruling would be underway, presided over by Justice Chandrashekhar Shankar Dharmadhikari.

Although the official ruling will be out on the 13th of June, IndiaToday journalist Shilpa Rathnam, who was present at court, live-tweeted what went down and it was as good as a showdown scene from a Bollywood movie.

See how the afternoon unwound for yourself.

The CBFC had mediocre arguments lined up, at best.

CBFC vs Udta Punjab: CBFC says "Till Tommy is a drug addict we understand he can cuss, why is he cussing after he reforms as well?" 😂😂

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

 

And then the judge began his systematic slow murder of the CBFC’s stand.

CBFC: We were told film is in Hindi, but both Hindi and Punjabi are spoken. Judge: Are you saying you ordered cuts without understanding?

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

Judge: Give the film a certificate, what is the need for cuts?

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

 

Justice Dharmadhikari knows the Indian population better than the CBFC.

CBFC: There's a dialogue "Zameen banjar to aulad kanjar." I'm embarrassed to explain "kanjar".Punjab's so fertile, why are they saying this?

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

Judge: Audiences are direct and open today. People born after 1980 are very mature. So why are you worried?

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

Judge to CBFC: For action to be taken you need to provoke. Multiplex audiences are discerning. How can you decide which word's right/wrong?

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

 

Looked like the judge had a breakfast of no nonsense with a mug of double common sense shots.

Judge: Film industry is not made of glass that you need to "handle with care." If you ask for so many cuts why is the point? Audience knows.

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

 

The CBFC was shown its place in the best manner.

Judge: It comes down to only one question, does the film glorify drugs?
CBFC: Yes
Judge: Then why have you not banned the film?

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

Judge: CBFC should only certify, not censor. The public is the biggest censor. CBFC doesn't need to censor.

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

Judge: Has CBFC discharged its functions from 1952 onwards with utmost care? We are fed up of all this.

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

 

We imagined the judge having a mic-drop moment after delivering his epic burns.

Judge: If the film is only filled with expletives then the audience won't watch the film. Why are you giving the film so much publicity?

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

Judge: We want creative people to survive and the industry to survive. You have to show the reality.

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

 

The Udta Punjab team was only too happy to comply with the judge’s request.

Judge to CBFC: Do you want the Udta Punjab makers to say they don't support the use of bad language?

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

Udta Punjab team: Yes we will add a disclaimer that the characters in the film don't support the use of cuss words.

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

HC indicates that it will set aside 12 cuts and will allow Udta Punjab to release with just 1 cut.

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

 

TL;DR

The one cut is of Tommy (Shahid Kapoor) urinating and the makers of Udta Punjab have agreed to remove the scene.

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

 

Take a bow, Justice Dharmadhikari.

The rockstar judge in this case is Justice Dharmadhikari. (What an apt name for a judge!)

— Shilpa Rathnam (@shilparathnam) June 10, 2016

The official and final ruling will be released on Monday, the 13th of June, along with any last minute changes.

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Cover image sources: 1 & 2