The Aam Admi Party said on Wednesday that Central Boar of Film Certification chairman Pahlaj Nihalani must apologise to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap for his comments alleging that the latter may have taken money from the AAP to make “Udta Punjab” adding that Nihalani should be sacked if he fails to tender the apology.
“The allegation by Pahlaj Nihalani that Kashyap took money from AAP for his ‘Udta Punjab’ is baseless. He should apologize to Kashyap,” Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashish Khetan told the media.
If Nihalani did not apologise, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi should remove him from the post, Khetan said.
Nihalani had alleged that he had heard that Kashyap had “taken money from AAP” to show Punjab in bad light through “Udta Punjab” and that this was the talk in the film industry.
“Udta Punjab” deals with the drug menace in Punjab, which goes to the polls next year and where the AAP is a major claimant for power.
The makers of “Udta Punjab” — Kashyap’s Phantom Films and Balaji Motion Pictures — have been told by the censors to make 89 cuts to get a release certificate.
Khetan said the drug menace was a real issue in Punjab and censoring “Udta Punjab” was an attempt to delay its release.
“Lots of people – mostly youths — have lost their lives in Punjab due to drug menace. The time has come to act against those who patronize this (drug) business in Punjab,” Khetan said.