Director Abhishek Chaubey’s upcoming Bollywood film Udta Punjab is in trouble again. According to a NDTV report, the reviewing committee of the Censor Board has asked the makers of the film to remove all references to Punjab, politics and elections.
Earlier, the Censor Board had refused to clear the film, thanks to the excessive use of expletives and scenes showing drug consumption in the movie. Subsequently, the film was referred to a panel called the Revising Committee.
Udta Punjab, starring Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor, deals with the subject of rampant use of drugs among youth in the state.
Read: Udta Punjab Is Not Banned, Says Anurag Kashyap
The filmmakers said that the Committee wants the film to be set in a fictional land as the use of ‘Punjab’ might affect the upcoming elections and politics of the state. Particularly concerned with the depiction of a drug problem in the state, Punjab’s ruling political party Akali Dal led by Prakash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal, have vehemently objected to the movie’s title and narrative.
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The party has received flak in the past from opposition parties and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for their inability to control the drug problem in the state. Kumar Vishwas from AAP had even released a recent music video on the issue that went viral over YouTube.
The movie is slated to hit the screens on June 17, this year.
Meanwhile, Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma tweeted that the movie should be named ‘Udta India’ or ‘Udta World’ because drug addiction isn’t limited to the state.
For what it actually represents Udta Punjab Is diminutive.. A more truthful and righteous title would be Udta India or Udta World
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 5, 2016