Producer-director
Mahesh Bhatt said on Tuesday that the non-negotiable right to free speech stands at the core of the raging controversy over '
Udta Punjab
' while well-known actor
M K Raina
compared those speaking against the film to 'blind men with deaf and dumb sensibilities'.
Bhatt said that any talk of progress is meaningless if one strangles the most precious asset of India, which is its right to free speech.
'Even in its poverty, India has the perfume of freedom that our founding fathers left us with. Saudi Arabia, with all the wealth of the world, doesn't have this perfume. Are we going to make India a
Saudi Arabia or a North Korea? It's this question that the nation needs to ask itself,' said the director of films like 'Saaransh', 'Zakhm', 'Sadak' and 'Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi'.
"As far as I am concerned, I began my career 45 years ago. As a young man, I had to deal with the draconian laws of the CBFC. We're now talking of India as a potential superpower. But the claim is hollow because my daughter Alia Bhatt (who plays a key role in 'Udta Punjab') faces the same problem today. When the might of the state is used to intimidate its artists, thinkers and thought leaders, you write the obituary of that nation,' he told TOI over phone.
Raina said that every Punjab politician is talking about the film without seeing it, which is like a blind man with deaf and dumb sensibility. 'That's the tragedy. We make judgements on books, films without reading or seeing them,' said the actor of '27 Down' and 'Aisha'.
'I was shooting for a film near the border and I was told, don't step out after sunset, you will be robbed by drug addicts. The drug problem in Punjab is a fact. Why are we becoming like
Dhritrashtra
?' Raina asked.
'As for the censor, it is divided today. It is being headed by a Dhritrashtra. I know this is a sensitive issue because we're going to have state elections. May be because of that they don't want the film. But the fact remains that a film can't change an election's result,' Raina said.
Udta Punjab row: Bombay High Court to hear the plea against Censor Board Renowned director
Shyam Benegal, who recently headed a committee to revamp the censor board, said he was hoping to see the film on Wednesdayafternoon. 'Only then will I be in a position to comment,' he said.
Udta Punjab, a Shahid Kapoor starrer, is in the middle of a raging debate on censorship.
Watch Anurag Kashyap Accuses Censor Board Chief