The makers of '72 Hoorain', a Hindi-language film, have criticised the decision of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to reject the trailer of the movie.
The decision has taken the makers by surprise, especially since the filmmaker Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan had won the National Award for Best Direction in 2019 for the same film.
Labeling the decision as being regressive, Ashoke Pandit, the movie's co-producer, said: "We are extremely hurt and disturbed because of the CBFC's unfair decision of rejecting the trailer without any reason. This action raises a big concern about creativity, freedom and realistic filmmaking. We will not take this lightly and will knock on the doors of the high court, if needed."
He added that "we will also be requesting the I&B ministry to intervene and question the authority at CBFC for rejecting the trailer."
Chauhan, a two-time National Award winner, who seemed visibly unhappy with CBFC's decision, noted: "The movie has won a National Award and has already received a censor certificate. The trailer carries the essence of the same movie."
He added: "So on what basis has CBFC rejected the trailer? We would request everybody to watch the movie and then jump to any conclusion. The movie only states facts and certainly does not target any religion or hurt religious sentiments."
Producer Gulab Singh Tanwar stated that the grounds of rejection seemed to be baseless. "Whatever the CBFC has done is not right," Tanwar said. "On one hand, the government applauds '72 Hoorain' and bestows it with a national honour, and here we have the CBFC rejecting the trailer of the same movie for reasons better known and understood only to them. This is confusing and absolutely unfair."
'72 Hoorain' is all set for a theatrical release on July 7.
(With IANS inputs)