'Udta Punjab' leak: CBFC claims innocence as all fingers point at them

Bigger trouble was brewing for makers of Udta Punjab despite a temporary relief from the Bombay High Court which cleared the film with a single cut.

The 2-hour-28-minute long film highlighting Punjab's drug menace was scheduled to be released on June 17, but was leaked online on Wednesday. A watermark stating 'for censor' on the top left of the film raised suspicions that the Central Board of Film Certification — which had engaged in a tough battle with the Udta Punjab producers — deliberately leaking the film. A film's leak online, before it hits theatres, can cause huge losses to the tune of crores if it is released by a big banner. 

The producers of the film, Anurag Kashyap's Phantom Films and Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Motion Pictures, have reportedly approached the Cyber Crime Cell in Bandra Kurla Complex and lodged a complaint in the case. They have also asked the division to disable all links to the leaked film. Till late Wednesday night, the film had been downloaded several times, sources told dna. The leaked version was apparently a good print, fuelling rumours of CBFC's role. 

The print leaked online had timestamps on it.  It also included the only scene that the Bombay High Court had demanded to be cut from the movie. 

When dna contacted the CBFC, a top official said, "During examining, revising or re-screening, the DVD was brought by the filmmakers and taken back by them. At no point we had sole possession of the same."

"It could be leaked from a CD which was meant to be shown for censor purpose alone, but got leaked in transit," the source said when asked about the for censor watermark.

The source said that sealed DVDs are kept by CBFC for record purposes but only after the certificate is issued. 

"During committee screenings, producer's representatives are always nearby. It is theoretically possible for CBFC to leak the movie, but then all five or nine members would be party to the crime. Not only unlikely, it is highly impossible," another CBFC official said. 

Udta Punjab director Abhishek Chaubey remained unavailable for comments.