New Delhi: ‘Udta Punjab’ co-producer Anurag Kashyap on Monday thanked the Bombay High Court for clearing the controversial film and for showing faith and support.
“Thank you To the honourable Judge, thank you all for the faith and support.. Time to get back to work.. Two back to back releases,” he tweeted.
Echoing similar sentiments, Shahid Kapoor, who is starring in the movie, took to his Twitter page to say, “Landmark judgement#UdtaPunjab will fly and so will the voice of freedom and expression. Thank you all for the support. This is your victory.”
A visibly relieved Abhishek Chaubey, who is the director of this film, lauded the courage and hard work by the lawyers and producers and said that his team would now fight for the release on its scheduled date on June 17.
“Today I salute the courage of my producers and the hard work that my lawyers have made and this film has been passed. We will fight for its release on the 17th. I am terribly pleased with the verdict and I am relieved,” Chaubey told the media here.
Producer Anurag Kashyap’s lawyer Ameet Naik told the media that if the decision is challenged and taken to the Supreme Court then the ‘Udta Punjab’ team will defend the film tooth and nail yet again.
However, CBFC CEO Anurag Srivastav today said that they would comply with the Bombay High Court’s decision.
“It’s not like that we have been denied to approach the Supreme Court. We did ask for a stay, but the stay was not granted to us. But that doesn’t mean that we cannot approach the Supreme Court if we want to. But it’s not like that we are planning to do that or anything,” he added.
Srivastav said it is not a set-back for anyone, adding it is a normal process which is being followed for examining and revising any film.
The High Court earlier in the day cleared the release of ‘Udta Punjab’, whose makers were locked in a dispute with the CBFC. A division bench of the High Court directed the CBFC to certify the film within 48 hours to enable the makers to release it on its schedule this Friday.
The High Court, however, directed the makers to delete one scene and to display a revised disclaimer.
The bench refused to stay its order on a plea made by CBFC counsel to enable the board to appeal against it in the Supreme Court, saying the filmmakers have already spent a lot on the movie and its promotion and distribution.
ANI