As the film ‘Udta Punjab’ is surrounded by controversies related to its release and the number of cuts demanded by the CBFC for getting a certification, Arun Jaitley, Union Finance and Information & Broadcasting Minister while speaking at the CNN News18 Indian of the Year Award Show was asked to talk about this issue. Talking about a “very well documented report by Shyam Benegal” he said that, “Over the next few days we are going to announce some very radical changes.”
‘Udta Punjab’, a film on the drug addiction problem in Punjab, has been asked to cut 89 scenes and also remove the mention of Punjab. This infuriated the producers of the film and they not only refused to budge but also took the case to Bombay HC. Today, the entire Bollywood industry is standing tall with the producers of Udta Punjab.
Highlighting the role of CBFC, Arun Jaitley added, “You will probably have a system where you will have a certificate. The correct word is certificate and not censorship. Certification norms will have to be liberal.”
Playing down the controversy revolving around ‘Udta Punjab’ he further added, “I think that we are overstating it because at the end of the day you have a board which takes a view which may be a little conservative view but then at the appeal tribunal with an appeal it can get disposed off.”
