Udta Punjab vs CBFC: 5 things that indicate it's a political battle

The Udta Punjab vs CBFC (Censor Board of Film Certification) battle has reached unprecedented heights. The allegations and counter allegations between both the parties have ensured national headlines to the issue. Throughout the saga though, CBFC Chief Pahlaj Nihalani, the man in the middle of the controversy, has maintained that the entire issue is apolitical. However, the recent developments show otherwise. Here are five reasons that indicate the battle is political:

1 Self-praising disclaimer

The CBFC has ordered the makers to include a disclaimer at the beginning, a part of which says, “The film focuses on the rising menace or 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 the menace."
The Punjab Government has been under fire for not taking enough steps to curb the drug menace in the state. Interestingly, the Punjab State Elections are due next year.

2 Ban politics?

From the number of cuts ordered by the CBFC, the one that has surprised the most is the removal of words like ‘Election,’ ‘MLA,’ ‘MP,’ ‘Party’ and ‘Parliament.’ These terms have never irked the board or anyone before.

3 Serious political accusation

The one instance that has stood out in the entire saga is Nihalani accusing Anurag Kashyap, one of the producers of Udta Punjab, of taking money from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to present Punjab in bad light. In other words, the CBFC chief himself added fuel to the speculations of the issue being political.

4 Punjab and its cities banned

What has shocked the makers and the audience the most is the decision of the CBFC to ban the word ‘Punjab’ from the title as well as anywhere else it appears in the movie. However, the same board had passed the trailer with the same name without any qualms. This has given rise to speculations of pressure being put on the CBFC by the Punjab Government later on. Also the names of cities in the state of Punjab - Jalandar, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Tarantaran, Jashanpura, Ambeshar, Ludhiana and Moga were asked to be deleted from background and wherever it is mentioned.

5 Selective silence

A number of Hindi film artists have openly come out in support of Udta Punjab. However, actors who are a part of or supporters of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), the ruling party at the centre and the one that formed the new CBFC, have not even tweeted anything on the issue, leave alone issuing a statement. The most prominent ones from these include, Paresh Rawal, Kirron Kher and Hema Malini. Anupam Kher, husband of Kirron and an ardent supporter of BJP, is known for speaking or tweeting on important issues. But he too has maintained a stoic silence.