WILL UDTA PUNJAB BENEFIT FROM THE CONTROVERSY?

Udta Punjab’s trailer did grab eyeballs thanks to the use of expletives. But the film got the maximum publicity in the last 15-20 days thanks to the Censor Board. The Board’s Examining Committee imposed 89 cuts along with ‘A’ certificate. The cuts were totally unjustified. It asked the makers to remove names of cities in Punjab and also ‘MLA’, ‘MP’ etc. Naturally, the makers were livid and tried their best to approach the Tribunal. There’s also a Revising Committee which can be approached if the Examining Committee imposes unjust cuts. But there have been instances in the past when the members of the Revising Committee and Examining Committee have been the same. Hence, the makers thought of going directly to the Tribunal. However, the Censor chief Pahlaj Nihalani refused to hand over the list of cuts (without which they can’t approach the Tribunal) and few days later, the Tribunal judge went on leave. This was seen as a deliberate attempt by Pahlaj to thwart the film’s release. Earlier, the film’s producer Anurag had smartly got his film Raman Raghav 2.0 (releasing next week, on June 24) cleared by the Tribunal. He directly went to Tribunal after the Examining Committee. Anurag feels that Pahlaj tried to seek revenge when he made undermined Pahlaj’s power and got Raman Raghav 2.0 cleared with negligible cuts.

Sadly, the same could not happen with Udta Punjab as the cut-list wasn’t provided. With time running out, the makers approached the Bombay High Court. The cut-list was then released and the Court ruled in favour of Team Anurag. Only one shot – that of Shahid urinating on a crowd – was removed. The rest of the cuts were declared unjustified.

However, the victory was shortlived for the makers. The certificate was given very late, on Wednesday evening. The makers had to work day and night to ensure that the film makes it in time in theatres, in India and overseas. Meanwhile, another development jolted the makers on Wednesday afternoon. The film got leaked online and what’s more, it’s a Censor copy allegedly. Did the Censors release the film purposely to seek revenge from Anurag? The makers tried to remove the torrent links but new ones are cropping up. The celebs are tweeting and asking people to not watch the film on pirated versions. However, this is only spreading the information that the film is out on torrent before its theatrical release. Hence, those who did not know about it learnt about Udta Punjab getting leaked thanks to the celeb tweets and news agencies talking reporting about it.

In the past, the controversies have help certain films stay in limelight. But these films became hit chiefly because they were good products. The same will happen with Udta Punjab. The initial would be slightly better now but whether it will be a hit depends on word of mouth. The film anyways is adult-certified and laden with expletives. Hence, a section of audience will stay away. The budget is a bit high, but the film can still work. Here’s hoping it becomes a hit despite the adult theme and getting leaked!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE UDTA PUNJAB AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!