A day after the Punjabi film Kaum De Heere (Diamonds of the Community) scheduled to release on August 22 was barred from release, producer Satish Katyal informs Mirror that he is headed to the Tribunal. “I stand to lose Rs 3 crore which may be peanuts for Bollywood producers but is big money for me. I will fight this out,“ he pointed out.

The film is based on the lives of Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, the two bodyguards of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who assassinated her on October 31, 1984.

The CBFC Chairperson, Leela Samson, thinks “the censor certificate has been rightly withdrawn“, but Katyal argues that the fact that his film was cleared after three sittings is proof that they cut everything that was objectionable.

Katyal refuses to elaborate on the cuts, “I cut at three places. One of them is a scene in which Satwant Singh's fiancée says something nasty to a cop. What more could I do? How can a censor certificate be withdrawn just 16 hours before release? Several theatres didn't have a backup plan and incurred losses.Isn't our constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression still intact?“ he argues.

Samson insists it's not about freedom of expression. “We felt the film was telling a story from Satwant and Beant's perspective. The title says it all. Moreover, it has ingredients that could trigger violence in the sensitive sections of our society. I was told by the Home Ministry to review the film on August 21 and I did my job,“ she reasons.

Katyal says that the film's director Ravinder Ravi has not been keeping well and has switched off his phone since he heard of the ban.“But we will not rest until the film opens in theatres. will even approach the Supreme Court. Surprisingly, CBFC didn't have the courtesy to give us a reason why they withdrew the censor certificate,“ he asserts.

Reportedly, CBFC CEO Rakesh Kumar had revealed in questioning that he had accepted a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the makers to clear the film. “I did not bribe Rakesh Kumar,“ maintains Katyal.