Speculation rife about Censor Board hand in Udta Punjab leak
The film, Udta Punjab, which was engaged in a bitter battle with the Central Board of Film Certification, has reportedly been leaked online on Wednesday evening. The film hits the theatres today. There are reports that the entire film, which has been co-produced by Phantom and has a run time of 2 hours 20 minutes, is doing the rounds on various torrent websites, with the words “for censor” written on the top left corner of the screen. This has sparked speculation about CBFC’s alleged involvement.
Co-producer Anurag Kashyap said that while he has no problem with people downloading a film, he believes the online leak of Udta Punjab is a case of vested interests “trying to demoralise” the filmmakers in their fight. Mr Kashyap, who has been at the forefront of a battle with the censor board, took to his Facebook page to criticise the piracy of the movie and also requested fans to wait till Saturday before downloading the online copy. “I have never downloaded a film on torrent, I don’t know how to. Yes, occasionally I have seen downloaded films, borrowed from friends and found a way to pay for them later, by buying them on DVD or blue-ray, and when I say this, I also say that no one can stop your right to download a film,” Mr Kashyap wrote on his Facebook page. “This time it’s a different fight, it’s a fight against censorship and if you are that audience that always downloads a film, then I won’t ask you to not do that, please do, but wait till Saturday which is the day you would normally download a film,” he added.
While Mr Kashyap did not name anyone, he called the leaks an attempt to demoralise people, who are fighting for their rights. “Piracy happens because of lack of access and in a world of free Internet, I do not have a problem with it. My problem is that this time it’s a case of vested interests trying to demoralise people from fighting for their rights.”
The makers had managed to remove the leaked links on websites but on Thursday morning, pictures of the pirated DVDs of the film took social media by storm. When contacted Vikramditya Motwane of Phantom, he said, “I don’t want to comment. We as producers have already dealt with the censor board in the court.”
When the producers of Udta Punjab had moved the Bombay High Court against the CBFC’s decision of having 89 cuts, the court cleared the film for release with just one cut and a revised disclaimer. However, the battle for the makers seems far from over. In fact, just two days before of the release, an NGO appealed to the Supreme Court questioning the Bombay high court’s verdict, which was rejected by the apex court on Thursday afternoon.
Shraddha Kapoor: Films are made with the hard work & passion of everyone involved in creating them. Please don't support piracy. Karan Johar: Please watch Udta Punjab in the cinema this weekend! Don’t succumb to online leaks!! An honest film needs an honest audience. Varun Dhawan: A big #dishoom to the Pirates. Go watch #UdtaPunjab only in the theatres. Arjun Kapoor: Viruses in the Udta Punjab online leaked links that crashes systems! What a way to fight this disgusting menace!!! #PiracyDiMaaDi