The Udta Punjab controversy has reached the Bombay High Court now. The Abhishek Chaubey-directed film was not given a certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) till the changes suggested by them were made. Headed by Pahlaj Nihalani, the Censor Board asked for more than 89 cuts in Udta Punjab, in addition to ordering the word 'Punjab' be removed from the title of the film.

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This, however, did not go down all too well with the producers of the film. Anurag Kashyap, who is producing the film along with Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Films, took to Twitter to voice his displeasure regarding the same. After a fashion, the case reached the Bombay High Court.

At the hearing in the Bombay High Court on Friday (June 10), Justice SC Dharmadhikari asked the CBFC to explain their reasons to not give Udta Punjab a certificate. "Give the film a certificate, what is the need for cuts?" he asked.

The CBFC tried clearing its stand by saying that most of Udta Punjab is in Punjabi, while the film is touted to be a Hindi one. To which, Dharmadhikari's answer was, "Are you saying you ordered cuts without understanding?"

"Have you done your job taking them (the film team) into confidence, telling them that just using expletives will not help run the film? This is not going to work. The generations to come will not be impressed with this. The generation now is taking more time to mature. Tell them to make content which is more watchable," said Dharmadhikari.

The CBFC had a problem with the content of Udta Punjab. The film tries to bring on screen the menace of drug abuse among youngsters in Punjab. The board ordered numerous cuts in the film, demanded the word 'Punjab' be removed from the title, in addition to dropping every reference of Punjab in the film whatsoever. The CBFC was asked to justify its suggestion for the cuts in the film.

"Audiences are direct and open today. People born after 1980 are very mature. So why are you worried? For action to be taken you need to provoke. Multiplex audiences are discerning. How can you decide which word is right or wrong? Film industry is not made of glass that you need to "handle with care." If you ask for so many cuts why is the point? Audience knows," said Dharmadhikari.

The bottom-line of the case, pointed out Dharmadhikari, was whether or not Udta Punjab glorifies the usage of drugs. When CBFC answered in the affirmative, they were counter-questioned as to why they hadn't banned the film in that case.

"CBFC should only certify, not censor. The public is the biggest censor. CBFC doesn't need to censor," the judge reiterated.

The final verdict in the Udta Punjab case is to be given on Monday (June 13). The film, which stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh in pivotal roles, is scheduled for a June 17 release.

Over the last few days, the Udta Punjab issue has seen several twists and turns, including a nasty war of words between producer Anurag Kashyap and CBFC choef Pahlaj Nihalani. While the latter claimed that the Udta Punjab makers had taken money from Aam Aadmi Party to show Shiromoni Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP-led Punjab in a poor light, the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association held a press conference to demand an apology from Nihalani for the comment.

While the battle rages on, it is yet to be seen whether Udta Punjab receives a certificate and is able to be released on its scheduled date.