Udta Punjab’s co-producer Anurag Kashyap slams Palhaj Nihlani
India Today | 7th Jun, 2016 10:19 PM

At issue is drug addiction in Punjab, something that the Sikh heartland is no stranger to. But Udta Punjab has run into censorship primarily because the movie is themed on the state's old problem.The regulator's harsh restrictions on the film, however, have sparked a counter-discourse on depiction of social issues in cinema.
Udta Punjab's co-producer Anurag Kashyap feels the censor board has arrogated to itself the role of an oligarch over the nation's film industry. Kashyap slammed censor-board chief Pahalaj Nihalani for ordering a series of cuts on his movie, including chopping the word Punjab from the title.
"Mr Nihalani is behaving like an oligarch, who is trying to control his subjects, which is the entire film industry," he told India Today. "For long, he has been behaving like a dictator. He doesn't want the films to go out of his control," the filmmaker said.
Kashyap refuses to accept the censor board's advice about edits on his Udta Punjab. He denies allegations his film portrays the state and its present Akali-BJP government in poor light, especially ahead of assembly elections due next year. Besides, the filmmaker believes the scourge of drug abuse in Punjab merits greater public attention.
"Anybody who wants to block the release of this film is somewhere complicit," he said, without naming any individual or political organisation. Distraught at Nihalani's blue-pencilling of Udta Punjab, Kashyap compared the censor board with North Korea -- which is often described as a "rogue regime" because of its totalitarian rule.
"The reason for me to say that the censor board is behaving like North Korea is simply because you cannot make sense of it," the filmmaker said.
In a tweet earlier Tuesday, Kashyap called his film an "honest" illustration of Punjab's drug situation.
"There is no film more honest than Udta Punjab. And any person or party opposing it is actually guilty of promoting drugs (sic)," he tweeted.
He also rejected offer of support from political parties, saying his battle stemmed from his right to free expression as a filmmaker.
Censor-board chief Nihalani was not available for comment.