9 hours ago
Panjab '95, starring Diljit Dosanjh, has been in the news after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asked for several cuts. Its release has been in limbo and for the first time, its director, Honey Trehan, has come out to talk about the hassles he faced. At one point, Honey Trehan shockingly confessed, “Some senior people from CBFC asked Ronnie (producer Ronnie Screwvala), ‘Why don’t you write off this film?’!”
From 21 to 127 – how CBFC’s cut list for Panjab ’95 increased over time; Honey Trehan makes EXPLOSIVE revelation: “CBFC told us remove ‘desh’, ‘Gurbani’; asked me ‘Itni zor se sach kaun bolta hai?’…I told Ronnie Screwvala that 127-cut version should neither have my name nor Diljit Dosanjh’s”
In a conversation with Kunal Kamra, Honey Trehan said that the Examining Committee (EC) of the CBFC asked him to submit documents to prove that the incidents depicted in the film occurred in real life. Honey and his team gave a detailed document to the EC. Honey then said, “The CBFC gave us 21 points and asked us to make modifications. I told them that the film would be harmed and that it was based on a true story. They told us to remove the reference to Jaswant Singh Khalra. But my film is about Jaswant Singh Khalra! My producer and I felt that it was not fair. Also, they didn’t provide us with a valid reason for the cuts.”
Honey continued, “I decided to go to the courts; at least, they’ll at least give me a reason to make changes. One lawyer came from CBFC, followed by one more and then one more. They were in the category of Additional Solicitor and those kinds of learned advocates. But they didn’t focus on the cuts. They only made assumptions (that the film will create law and order problems).”
Honey Trehan revealed, “Comedy was going on. One day, one of the lawyers said, ‘Lordship, we need another date’. When the judge asked the reason, he replied, ‘Our lawyer is retiring today’. The lordship asked him, ‘Did he get a call in the morning informing him of his retirement? He would have known about it a month ago. Then, why did he take up this case?’. The judge also asked, ‘Since when did the court start working on assumptions?’. There was pin-drop silence. When the judge asked if he had seen the film, the learned lawyer replied in the negative. The judge (was shocked and) asked him to watch the film. The lordship also asked for a copy of the movie.”
Honey added, “Meanwhile, our film got selected at the Toronto Film Festival. In the next hearing, the lawyer informed the judge that after seeing the film, he was so disturbed that he couldn’t sleep properly. The judge said, ‘Even I saw it. I was also so disturbed that I couldn’t sleep properly at night’. The lawyer replied, ‘That’s precisely my point’. He argued that the law-and-order situation will deteriorate and that militancy could get aggravated. The lordship looked at him and asked, ‘Can you please tell me which scene touches upon separatism and law and order?’. Finally, the lawyer revealed, ‘Not just CBFC, even the I&B ministry has a problem with the film’. The same day, my producer got a call asking him to come to Delhi. A day or two later, Ronnie categorically told me, ‘We are neither fighting anymore in the courts nor are we going to Toronto’.”
With no other option, Honey Trehan agreed to the 21 cuts asked by the EC. He continued, “After submitting it to the Revising Committee (RC), they told me, ‘We have a few more observations’. The number of cuts increased to 45. After doing the cuts, they had a few more observations. The film then got 65 cuts. 85 cuts were a big blow. We had a meeting and the CBFC officials told me, ‘(Despite these 85 cuts), film ka asar kam nahin ho raha hai! The head of RC remarked, ‘Itni zor se sach kaun bolta hai?’. Later, we were told that the chairperson would watch the film and that we would get the certificate.”
Sadly, things didn’t get better for the makers of the film. Honey Trehan admitted, “More than a month later, we were asked to make 37 more cuts. In all, the film is standing at 127 cuts. It's like they want to delete a part of history. I told Ronnie, ‘If your conscience allows, please go ahead and release the film (with 127 cuts)’. I understand, as his money was stuck. I requested him that this 127-cut version should neither have my name nor Diljit’s.”
Honey Trehan then revealed, “I was called for another meeting (by CBFC). They told me about 4 key things that they don’t want in the film. Firstly, they told me to remove references to Taran Tarn, Amritsar, the crematoriums where the unclaimed bodies were found etc. Words like ‘desh’, ‘country’, ‘centre’, ‘system’ and ‘extra-judicial killings’ shouldn’t be mentioned. There’s a dialogue, ‘1995. Indira Gandhi ke assassination ko 11 saal ho chuke the…’. They asked me to remove mention of Indira Gandhi! I have no idea what is (objectionable) in this line. Moreover, we were told to mention ‘Punjab Police’ simply as ‘Police’. They also asked us to axe the opening scene. All this comprises their first point out of the 4 points!”
He added, “Secondly, they made it clear that there should be no mention of Jaswant Singh Khalra. Thirdly, I was told that I can’t depict the flag of India or any other flag. We were told to remove the entire scene where he goes to Canada and delivers a speech. I was told to remove Gurbani! The new CEO asked me, ‘Is your film sensitive?’. I asked him, ‘Have you watched the film’. He answered, ‘No, but I am going to watch it’. He added that he’ll watch the version with 85 cuts. I suggested that he see the uncut version. He replied, ‘I am afraid. What if I like it?’!”
Honey Trehan ended his woes by remarking, “If somebody wants to make The Kashmir Files or The Kerala Story, aap banao. I have no problem; it's your freedom of speech. These films are getting released; why is our film stuck? The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, The Sabarmati Report, Emergency, Article 370 etc. released. How come there was no law and order during the release of these films? Sirf iss film mein kaise ho jaayegi? If you were able to handle law and order in the states where these films were set, toh iss case mein bhi (handle kar) lo.”
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