Udta punjab gets “grounded” by censor board

The Censor Board of Film Certification in India continues to raise the bar when it comes to being incomprehensible. Earlier today, it “grounded” _Udta Punjab_, directed by Abhishek Chaubey,

because it has bad language. No, an A-rating won’t satisfy the state-backed protectors of our delicate sensibilities; they’ve got to stop the film from releasing altogether.  As the title

suggests, _Udta Punjab_ is set in Punjab and one of the stories follows a drug-addled rockstar played by Shahid Kapoor. The film was scheduled to release on June 17, 2016. You can see the

film’s trailer here:  Its official synopsis describes the film like this: “_Udta Punjab_ is about the famed Punjabi spirit, that despite being slightly down, has the audacity of looking you

in the eye and saying – _Drugs di maa di_!” Chaubey’s film follows four characters (a rock star, a migrant labourer, a doctor and a cop) who apparently have nothing in common. Aside from

Kapoor, _Udta Punjab_ stars Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Dilip Dosanjh. The film struggled to find backers initially because rumour has it that the original script had “shocking”

amounts of violence (a Bollywood-loving birdie told us so).  Producer Anurag Kashyap has said he is going to challenge the Censor Board’s decision. His argument is that the expletives that

the CBFC is objecting to are integral to the film.  As far as _Udta Punjab_ goes, the only question is how much will have to be cut from the film for the CBFC to allow its release.