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“Audience Is Mature. Let Them Decide.” Says High Court To CBFC Regarding Udta Punjab Case!

byDebanjan Dhar
10th June 2016
2 minute read

Anybody who is excited over the fate of Udta Punjab has to wait until Monday, June 13 for Bombay High Court to give its verdict on the censorship row regarding the movie. However, there seems to be a ray of hope for the movie considering how the High Court has slammed CBFC earlier today.

Bombay High Court questioned the CBFC counsels on their demands for 89 cuts in the movie instead of simply certifying it according to its content.

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“The word censor is not anywhere in the act. Your power is to certify films for public exhibition,” the CBFC counsels were told.

The counsels argued that the actions and languages in some of the scenes were objectionably abusive which might send out a wrong message to the audiences – a Punjabi character making objectionable gestures and indulging in wrongdoings can leave a negative effect on the society.

 

The Bombay High Court, however, had a very valid question for the CBFC counsels:

“Audience is mature; let the audience decide. How can you say which word is right and which is wrong? Today’s audience is smart and intelligent. They know what is right and what is wrong. Film industry is not a glass which has to be handled with care. What’s the point of making a film if you cut majority of scenes from it? Also, you want to remove the word ‘Punjab’ from the title, which is pointless.”

 

And as far as curse words are concerned, this is what the HC said:

“If the film has expletives and foul language throughout then people won’t watch it. Why are you giving so much publicity to it?”

 

The petitioner also asked the Censor Board why they could pass films like Gangs of Wasseypur and Delhi Belly, which also have a lot of expletives but not Udta Punjab?

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The counsels tried refute with the view that the film shows Punjab as a drug pedaling hub of the country which they have accordingly censored.

However, the High Court has agreed to censor a few scenes including that of Shahid Kapoor urinating in front of the crowd at a rock concert. That apart, the petitioners seem to have a progressive approach regarding the censorship of the movie. Also, the makers have been asked to provide a thorough disclaimer at the beginning of the film.

 

What followed was a series of reaction by eminent personalities of the twitter universe:


https://twitter.com/sonakshisinha/status/740796209196105728

All we have to do is wait over the weekend to find out what fate has in store for the much awaited Udta Punjab.

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