Reference to Musharraf gets War Chhod Na Yaar in trouble

There is no good news for the film-makers of anti-war satire War Chhod Na Yaar (WCNY) as the Indian Censor Board of Film Certification has thrown its October 11 release in a tizzy. Due to reference in the film directed towards former president of Pakistan General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, the film’s release is now uncertain.

Clamping down what has been touted as India’s first war comedy, the censor board told the film’s producer Prashanth Narayan that WCNY has been forwarded to the revising committee. “We showed the film to the Censor Board on Monday. They suggested some minor changes like beeps in a couple of places. They promised to give the letter clearing the film the next day with a ‘U’ certificate,” said Narayan.

However, Narayan was shocked when his film was refused the censor certificate. “I was told the film has gone to the revising committee because of the reference to General Musharraf,” said Narayan, adding that they had to snip out the reference to Musharraf. “My argument is not about the cut. I want to know why we were not told about the necessary changes when we first went to the censors,” he added. “The delay had a snowballing effect [to the film]. The prints took longer to be readied and the distribution process was delayed. We lost our precious time.”

The trailer of WCNY, which was released three weeks ago, sparked various debates online with people from Pakistan complaining that the film demeans the Pakistani Army and portrays it in a bad light.