AAP Paid For Udta Punjab? Nihalani, King Of Cuts, Must Be High

I don't want to ask the obvious question as to who appointed Pahlaj Nihalani Chief of the Censor Board. I don't want to ask whether we need a man like him to lecture us as to what kind of movies should be made and watched. I don't want to ask if India has such a talent deficit that we can't get a creative superstar to be the Chief of the Censor Board. I don't want to ask if there is any design in choosing such individuals as the high priests of cinema; and if this design is part of a larger narrative.

I will be lying if I say I don't know Nihlanai. I know Nihalani as I know Marlon Brando, my all-time favourite. I know Nihalani as I know Daniel Day Lewis. I know Christoph Waltz too - not that I met him - know him through his craft. The world of cinema is richer thanks to their craft and the characters that they have played. Whenever I watch Brando, I am reminded of The Last Tango in Paris - a movie that features one of the most sensational sex scenes ever filmed in world cinema and is still remembered for its creative genius. Waltz played one of the most brutal characters in "Inglorious Bastards" along with Brad Pitt. Had these films been made in India and had Nihalani happened to be the Chief of Censor Board, we would have been lucky to see only 73.5% of these movies - or thereabouts.

Yes, I know Nihalani because I have seen some of his movies. As an old class mate of mine used to say, I have seen those movies to test my patience! For this reason I have seen Hathkadi, Ilzam, Aag Hi Aag, Shola Aur Shabnam and also Aankhen. Thankfully these films were only produced by Nihalani. By the time he decided to direct films, I had lost all patience and courage to watch films like Avatar, starring Govinda. I was therefore not surprised when Nihalani  said films like Omkara and Gangs of Wasseypur should not be released as they have cuss words - because in his opinion, in a normal civilised world, people don't use cuss words. I had the privilege of studying in one of the best universities and I can say that the better the institution, the more improvised are the cuss words.
 The problem is not with Nihalani. He is what he was and what he intends to be. The problem is with the people who saw in him a modern day Satyajit Ray or Jean Godard or Luis Buñuel (or the latest craze - Iñarritu). He is the same man who made a YouTube video during the 2014 parliamentary elections called "Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi". The same man who, after taking over as the Chairperson of Censor Board of Film Certification, had a brain wave and created a music video named "Mera Desh Mahaan", a tribute to Prime Minister Modi. I don't know if Mr Prime Minister was embarrassed but yes, when the film was shown during the interval of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, society at large was outraged. There were demands for him to be sacked, but he survived to make another outrageous statement: "As far as Udta Punjab is concerned, I have passed 73% of the film". And that the wizard of new cinema in India, Anurag Kashyap, has been paid by the Aam Aadmi Party, and all the hungama is a publicity stunt to garner eyeballs for the film.

It's beyond my dignity to react to such a ridiculous utterance of a third-rate film-maker. The fact is that Punjab has been ruined by drug syndicates under political patronage. "An AIIMS study", as reported by Business Standard, "had recently found that 4.5% of all of Punjab's adult population used drugs while 1.2% of the adult population was addicted. That is six times the global average." In Punjab, village after village have been devastated by the scourge of drugs. A whole generation has been ruined and Punjab, once known for the Green Revolution and the courage of its boys in the army, is now in the clutches of Chitta.
 Udta Punjab is the creative depiction of this curse on Punjab. It's not about the politics of one party or another. It's about an issue. It's a way to hold up a mirror to society. But in his wisdom, Nihalani has ordered that no reference to Punjab can be made in the movie. He really believes that if there is no mention of the issue of drugs in Punjab, then the world will not know about this! He is trying to say that the drug menace will further aggravate if the film is shown in Punjab theatres. He is trying to say that this film is painting Punjab in a bad light. The genius of a creative medium lies in how realistically it depicts reality and truth. The truth might be very painful, but it has to be brought before the people.

America lost the Vietnam War. It's one of the most painful chapters of American history, but the self-introspection did not stop. Hollywood has never tired of making a movie on Vietnam. It's their way of finding the truth, it's a way of introspection, and it's a way of learning lessons from history. Good Morning Vietnam, Apocalypse Now, Born on Fourth of July, Platoon etc. are beautiful movies with a great sense of history; each excavates a new perspective to underline what went wrong. These movies have enriched not only the world of cinema but also helped the USA to get over its collective trauma. Cinema provided the healing touch.

Punjab is passing through traumatic times. This time needs to be investigated, understood and a new perspective has to be found. Society has many ways of doing that. Films are one of them. The truth can't be buried by inserting cuts or banning a movie. Unfortunately, we are living in a time where apparently Gajendra Chauhan is the greatest film-maker and Nihalani is the only cinematic genius. So I dare not ask who has appointed Nihalani. Anyone hear Nihalani say that he has no issues with being known as the chamcha of Modi? 

(Ashutosh joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014.)

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