The court further said no one can dictate how to make a film. (File) The court further said no one can dictate how to make a film. (File)

The Bombay High Court on Monday observed that the CBFC does not have power to censor films. The court further said that cuts suggested should be in consonance with Constitution and earlier Supreme Court orders.

“Udta Punjab is a movie depicting the drug menace based in a place. There is no mention of the word ‘censor’ in board. Board should use its powers as per Constitution and Supreme Court’s directions,” the bench observed.

The court said it is in agreement with the producers of Udta Punjab, that the central theme is showing menace of drugs.

Full Coverage: Read our investigation into Punjab’s drug war

The court said the worth of a film should be viewed in its entirety instead of seeing isolated factors like dialogues, songs, lines, among other things. The court further said it is open for a creative person to choose the backdrop and setting for a film, and no one can dictate how to make a film.

Udta Punjab has been facing controversy ever since CBFC Chief Pahlaj Nihalani ordered 13 cuts, which included cutting down references to Punjab, elections, political parties and the reference in the name of the film.

Anurag Kashyap, one of the producers of the film, appealed to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), after a Bombay high court order helped them receive the official letter from the CBFC informing them about the cuts.

Watch Video: Udta Punjab Controversy: Youth Has The Right To Know Drugs Are A Menace, Says Shahid Kapoor

Nihalani, who was in the eye of the storm over suggesting a very large number of cuts, said nine members of the Central Board of Film Certification watched the film and “unanimously” cleared it after the proposed 13 cuts.

The Abhishek Chaubey-directed film is tentatively scheduled for release on June 17.

On Friday, the court told CBFC, “Whether it is TV or cinema, let the people see it. Everybody has a choice.”

The court also said that multiplexes audiences are mature enough to understand the content of such films and that all the hype was giving unnecessary publicity to the film.

READ | Udta Punjab row: ‘Adult with Caution’ category for restricted viewing suggested by Shyam Benegal panel

The CBFC’s revising committee had suggested a number of changes in the movie, which stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor-Khan and Diljit Dosanjh, and deals with the problem of drug addiction among youth in Punjab.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said that the movie “wants to save people” from drugs and “has not been made with a view to malign the state or its people”.

It called the “hue and cry” surrounding 13 cuts suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to the film, and the decision of the production house to challenge the suggested cuts, “obnoxious”.

(With inputs from ANI)

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