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Being overly critical stifles creativity: HC to CBFC

In sharp observations, the Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Censor Board of India not to be overly- critical so that creative people can grow in the film industry and, at the same time, said makers of Udta Punjab should tone down expletives and vulgar scenes as these alone cannot make a film work.

A division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi said it will pass orders in the case on June 13 after it concluded hearing arguments on the petition filed by Phantom Films, producer of “Udta Punjab”, against an order of the revising committee of the CBFC that suggested changes in the film.

The court was critical of the CBFC’s direction to the makers to delete any reference made to Punjab in the film saying “the crux of the film will be lost” and added that people should be given the choice to view what they want. In stinging observations against the Board, the court noted, “If the movie (Udta Punjab) is glorifying use of drugs then ban the entire movie.” 

Disapproving of the CBFC’s direction to delete and cut references to “Punjab” in the film, the judges said “from every dialogue and scene of the film if reference to Punjab will have to be deleted then the crux of the film will be lost. “If the idea of the maker is to be critical of a place or person then that place or person will have to be shown,” the bench said.

The court also added that the censor board by passing such an order against the movie was giving it unnecessary weightage and publicity. “Do not give them (movie makers) undue publicity. The movie will fail if the content is bad. They (film maker) must be happy now that all their promotion expenses is saved as they are getting free publicity,” it said.

The CBFC counsel Advait Sethna, while justifying the decision of the board’s revising committee asking the makers to cut and delete certain scenes of the movie, remove all expletives and cuss words.
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