Both, the central and Punjab review boards have found the drug abuse film filled with unsuitable and abusive content, thus withholding its screening across Pakistan.
The most talked-about Indian film has now been forwarded to the full boards for additional reviews.
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Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) Mobasher Hasan is not happy with the kind of language that has been used in Udta Punjab. He actually cited the heavy use of offensive language as the reason for withholding the film.
“There is a lot of swearing in the movie. So much that there are dialogues have more than two or three swear words in them,” Hasan said.
Even after performing careful cutting and chopping, CBFC is uncertain about the release of the film. According to Hasan, an adult rating for Udta Punjab cannot guarantee its screening in Pakistan.
“The problem is that even if the movie is granted an adult rating, it would still have the necessary cuts and beeps. And there are close to 200 scenes that need to be muted because of the vile language,” Hasan revealed.
Fakhr-Alam, Chairman Censor Board Sindh, said that the film actually needs changes on the part of its distributors.
“We have told the distributor to delete the bad language, swear words — which are extremely explicit and in direct conflict with the law and censor code. We will [then] review to see that the compliance has been adhered to and then issue a certificate,” he said.
Fakhr-Alam continued to say,” As far as the release is concerned, it is up to the distributor.”
Udta Punjab focuses on the subject of substance abuse and its results on the youth of the Punjab. The film features Indian actors Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Diljit Dosanjh in major roles.
The subject of the film has been too controversial that initially, the Indian Central Board of Film Certification also had to seek a stay order on the film before its release for being too mature.
