'Govt can't interfere in film certification'

The Centre is unlikely to intervene in the ongoing row over the film certification to “Udta Punjab” by the Censor Board.

The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has rather kept its focus on proposal to restructure the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to streamline its functioning. The ministry is examining recommendations made by the Shyam Benegal committee in its report.

Senior officials of the I&B Ministry said that any interference of the Centre into matters pending with CBFC would be “inappropriate” and amount to interference with its autonomy.

They also cited a Supreme Court verdict in 2000 in which the apex court observed that the Cinematograph Act that vested powers to the Centre of review and revision over the decisions of the CBFC and its Appellate Tribunal was a “travesty of the rule of law”.

The ministry officials’ response to the raging controversy came a day after one of the co-producers of “Udta Punjab” Anurag Kashyap reportedly complained that he did not get any help from the Centre.

The CBFC has recommended as many has 89 cuts in the film “Udta Punjab”, which seeks to highlight the wide-scale abuse of drugs and narcotic substances prevalent in the state. The film is scheduled to be released on June 17.

Punjab, which is being ruled by the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) coalition, is gearing up for Assembly polls in the state next year. Addressing a press conference here, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy dismissed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s accusation that CBFC recommended 89 cuts in “Udta Punjab” at the behest of the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre. “I completely reject it (charge) that the government has any role or intervened to stop its release. AAP survives on controversies. It creates controversies for political purpose”, he said.

When asked if he believed that Punjab suffered from drugs addiction problems, Rudy said: “I don't think there is any problem”. The I&B Ministry officials said that CBFC was an independent body, suggesting that makers of the film can challenge the Board’s decision before the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT).

“The process is quite clear. The court guidelines also make it clear that it is not for the I&B ministry to take up such matters”, an official said.
DH News Service

Kashyap took AAP money: Nihalani
Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani on Wednesday said that filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has taken money from the AAP to show Punjab in bad light in “Udta Punjab”, DHNS 
reports from Mumbai. However, Kashyap, who is the co-producer of “Udta Punjab”, in response  said that it is such a statement that does not even merit a comment. On the other hand, Mukesh Bhatt, the president, Film & Television Producers Guild of India and Ashoke Pandit, the president, Indian Film & Television Directors Association, demanded an “unconditional apology” from Nihalani for having made such a statement. Kashyap’s Phantom Films and Balaji Motion Pictures, which are the co-producers of “Udta Punjab”, were asked to make 89 cuts to the movie to get a release certificate from the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC). The film is slated to be released on June 17.


Snip snip: what the CENSOR BOARD wants to remove

*Delete sign board of word Punjab in the beginning
*Delete words like Punjab, Jullandhar, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Taran Taran, Jashanpura, Ambesar, Ludhiana and Mogha
*Delete words - election, MP, ‘party’ from party worker, MLA, Punjab, Parliament
*Delete the close up shots of injecting the drugs wherever it appears
*First disclaimer should be audio/video and to be changed as - “The film focusses on the rising menace of drugs and the war against drugs and is an attempt to show the ill-effects of drugs on today’s youth and the social fabric. We acknowledge the battle against drugs being fought by the government and police. But this battle cannot be won unless the people of India unite against this menace.”
*Certain wordings used in two songs need to be changed
*Name of a dog, which resembles a top Hollywood actor, needs to be changed
*Expletives used at every place need to be deleted
*A certain visual sequence in song needs to be changed