Changes Censor Board wants in Udta Punjab

Udta Punjab, which was scheduled to be released on June 17, has been grounded for now with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) demanding 94 cuts in all. 

CBFC's decision has not gone down well with the makers, who have now moved the Bombay High Court against it.

While the film's name itself seems to have caused trouble with the board, with the makers being asked to drop 'Punjab' from the title, that is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Here are some of the cuts and changes that the Censor Board wants: 

1) According to the Hindustan Times, the CBFC has asked  for the removal of the names of nine cities, including Jashanpura, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Tarantaran, Moga and Ludhiana. 

2) According to the review committee’s letter, the Indian Express reported, any mention of Punjab, which appears 94 times in the movie, is to be muted. Even a scene where a signboard says ‘Punjab’has been asked to be removed.

3) The Hindustan Times also reported that the Censor board has objected to around 20 abusive words, "including ‘k*tti’ (bi***), chitta ve (a slang for drugs) and har**mi (bas****)". The report added that the board also wants the words "election, MP, MLA and Parliament" removed from the film. 

4) According to a report by Mid Day, CBFC has also called for deleting all the close-up shots of injecting drugs wherever they appear. 

5) CBFC, according to the Indian Express report, wants an audio and video disclaimer at the beginning of the movie, which states: “The film focuses on the rising menace of drugs and the war against drugs and is an attempt to show the ill-effects of drugs on today’s youth and social fabric. We acknowledge the battle against drugs being fought by the government and the police. But this battle can’t be won unless the people of India unite against the menace.”

6) CBFC has said that a scene showing the character 'hero' (Shahid Kapoor) urinating in front of a crowd is to removed too, the same report said.  

7) The Mid Day report added that the line 'Jamin Banzar te Aulad Kanjar' had also been subject to the board's disapproval and marked for removal.

8) In a bizarre move, the board has also raised objections on the name of a dog in the movie. According to the Hindustan Times, a dog named ‘Jacky Chain’ has caught the board's attention, which has asked for its removal "as it appears to be named after the Hollywood star Jacky Chan".

9) The songs of the movie have not been spared either, with the board demanding that the “visuals of a Sardar scratching/itching his side” be deleted from a song.