After the Bombay High Court cleared Udta Punjab with just one cut and a revised disclaimer on Monday, CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani welcomed the decision and said the producers had every right to challenge the decision. But did Pahlaj really take the Bombay HC verdict in his stride? Or did the defeat not go down well with his ego?
After the court’s order there were two options before the CBFC chief – he could either issue the certificate immediately or he could keep the producers hanging. Nihalani reportedly chose the later.
According to sources, the CBFC chief acted difficult about issuing the certificate so much so that the producers had to approach the court once again to get
an order asking the CBFC to promptly release the certificate by 6pm on Wednesday.
As per inside sources, Nihalani who signs on most CBFC certificates refused to sign the one for Udta Punjab, which clearly says, ‘Passed by the Honourable High Court, Mumbai.’
The certificate was finally signed by Raju S Vaidya, the Regional Officer.
Our source in the CBFC says, “Usually Pahlaj prefers to sign the certificates himself, it’s strange he didn’t want to sign this one.”
And after all that the filmmakers went through, it was then discovered that the copy of the film submitted to the CBFC was leaked online. While the Mumbai cybercrime cell is investigating the leak, actors from the film have been urging people via Twitter to not watch the pirated copy and to watch Udta Punjab in theatres only.
With less than 24 hours for the release of Udta Punjab, all eyes will be now on how the public reacts to the film after all the hype before its release.