In a dig at censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani, national awardwinning filmmaker Shyam Benegal said it was not an individual's job to look after people's morals. Asked if '
Udta Punjab
' should have been given an adult certification instead of the many cuts suggested, he said, "I don't want to comment on the film. It is going through a process. But our recommendations are that films should be classified into a given category . It is not my job to look after people's morals."
Benegal
headed a committee set up by the I&B ministry to recommend guidelines for certification of films. The panel submitted one report in April and is likely to submit its second report before month-end. Asked if India was mature for such a system, Benegal said, ' Are we a paternalistic society or are we a democracy? We are a democracy and must work like one.'
Will Udta Punjab miss its release date? Supporting the controversial film that is based on the drug problem in the state, Benegal said it was a wellmade film and contrary to perception, did not portray Punjab in poor light. 'It's an extremely well-made film but it also points out to a rather unfortunate fact that drugs routed from Central Asia to Afghanistan come into India via Punjab and the state is vulnerable to this kind of infiltration, which has caused problems over a period of time,' he said after watching the film in a special screening.
The director, 81, said much of the debate was sparked because people think the film is against the state of Punjab. Benegal said this notion is wrong.
'The film in that sense points to a very important problem. I don't think one should take it to mean that the state is colluding with it. This is absolutely the wrong reading of the film itself. I have a feeling a lot of controversy has started because everybody feels that it is blaming the state, on the contrary (it shows) the state is vulnerable,' the director said.
Asked if the censor board is justified in making the demand that the name 'Punjab' should be deleted and whether filmmakers should be given complete creative freedom, Benegal said, 'I won't comment on it because it's the filmmaker's view. Whether 'Punjab' should have been used, I won't say as it has a lot to do with sensibilities and sensitivities. The important thing is the filmmaker has dealt with a serious issue."
Read this story in Telugu Listen to the songs of Udta Punjab on gaana.com WATCH: 'Udta Punjab' sans Punjab Censor row turns political