Udta Punjab controversy: Hearing in Bombay High Court adjourned till tomorrow

Bombay High Court on Thursday again adjourned hearing on Udta Punjab censorship ban controversy till Friday. Filmmakers Vikas Bahl and Anurag Kashyap had moved High Court seeking a copy of the order passed by Censor Board's Review Committee purportedly suggesting cuts in the movie and removal of reference to Punjab in it.

Anurag Kashyap on the other hand framed the whole controversy as blackmail by CBFC.

Kashyap said in all his previous run-ins with either the board or the government, he never felt he was being silenced, but this particular case was different.

"... I never felt that I was being silenced or blackmailed into doing something against my will. All those battles were a fair fight of belief systems, all those fights were not being lost, not knowing what's going on.

"All those battles we knew who and what the enemy was, be it a person, a thought or just the understanding of the board. This one is different. This was blackmail, this has been a wall of lies. We got the official letter in a day after going to press and immediately after the first hearing of the court," he posted on Facebook.

Kashyap's fresh post came hours after he along with other leading Bollywood celebrities held a joint press meet to express their anger towards board's objections to certain portions of the film, which is based on substance abuse in North Punjab and its effect on youth.

The "Bombay Velvet" director said Pahlaj Nihalani has been lying and pressuring them to delay the release of the film, slated to hit theatres on June 17.

(With PTI Inputs)