Anurag Kashyap took money from AAP to show Punjab in bad light, says CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani

Local Press Co 5-point Snippet

1. The battle between the makers of ‘Udta Punjab’ and the Censor Board is getting uglier by the day.

2. Most recently, the BJP appointed CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani allegedly demanded 89 cuts and asked the makers to remove any references to the state of Punjab from the film. Enraged over the board’s decision, the film’s producers – Anurag Kashyap’s Phantom films along with Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Posters – called for a press conference last night.

3. During the press conference, an unabashed Kashyap was quoted saying, “I don’t think that removing Punjab from Udta Punjab title is acceptable to any of us. They have asked us to remove the city names, they have asked us to remove MLA, MLC. All these things are told to us in person. He’s not putting it on paper. The moment he puts those things on paper, we have the option to go on a trial.”

4. After failing to get the CBFC report in writing, the film’s co-producers, Anurag Kashyap and Vikas Bahl, moved Bombay High Court seeking a copy of the order of Censor Board Review Committee report on the film.

5. But, prior to the hearing, CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani told Times Now that he’s heard that Anurag Kashyap took money from Aam Aadmi Party to show Punjab in bad light. While AAP is planning on holding an emergency news briefing to counter charges made by Nihalani, Kashyap has responded to the allegations by stating, ‘He knows his lies and his method have been caught. It’s defence of the weak, the guilty.’