Udta Punjab film makers move Bombay HC against Censor Board

Mumbai, June 8: Producers of drug-themed Bollywood film Udta Punjab on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that they had got a copy of the order passed by the Revising Committee of the Censor Board and wanted to study it to decide whether to challenge the changes suggested by it.

Phantom Films, which produced the film, had earlier in the day moved the court seeking a copy of the order passed by the Revising Committee suggesting cuts in the movie and removal of reference to Punjab in it.

However, during the hearing, they infor med a division bench headed by Justice S C Dharmadhikari that they wanted to amend the petition as they had just got a copy of the order.

The order was passed on June 6, in which 13 changes were suggested by the revising committee of the Censor Board.

The producers informed that they would study the changes suggested by the Committee and decide whether to challenge them. In that case, they would like to amend the petition.

Accordingly, the court granted time to Phantom Films, a company floated by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, to amend the petition and posted the matter for hearing on Thursday. The court also asked the Censor Board to place before it the records of this case on Thursday.

Another issue which cropped up during the hearing was whether the aggrieved filmmakers can move the high court directly without approaching the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal in accordance with the rules of Cinematograph Act.

Counsel for the film producer, Ravi Kadam, argued thattheChairmanof theTribunal was out of town and therefore not available till June 14. As the film was slated for release on June 17, they had moved the High Court.

The law (Cinematograph Act) also provides that if the Tribunal does not sit for any reason, the aggrieved parties can move the high court, he said. PTI