No ‘Udta Punjab’ in Pakistan

New Delhi: ‘Udta Punjab’ has been in controversies from the time it has been announced. Whether it was because of Shahid and Kareena starring in the same film or because of the theme of ‘drug abuse’ in Punjab, the film always succeeded in grabbing the eyeballs. The latest controversy between the makers of the film and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) was still fresh in the minds, the movie is now again making headlines because of its release in Pakistan. The Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) in Pakistan has suggested 100 cuts to release the film in Pakistan. But the makers does not accept the cuts suggested by the censor board of Pakistan and have refused to make any changes, due to which the film will not release in Pakistan. “It is definitely a loss of revenue if the film is not released there. But more than that, it would make no sense releasing it with the cuts. The film is intended to convey something and make a point. Agreeing to the cuts makes no sense to us,” said Abhishek Chaubey, the director of Udta Punjab. The Indian censor board had also suggested 89 cuts to makers of the film before its release in India. But, the makers battled it out in High Court and released the film with a single cut in India. But the director feels that fighting it out in Pakistan will not be beneficial. On this Chaubey said, “There is no scope to fight our case in Pakistan. So we have decided not to release the film there.” Chaubey feels that there should be creative freedom for the filmmakers to freely express themselves so that the creative process of making films will not get hampered. ‘Udta Punjab’ released last week in India received rave reviews from the critics as well as the audiences. The performances of all the actors have been  highly praised by everybody. The movie is also doing good business both in India as well as Overseas and is about to touch the 50 crore mark in India.