Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, who has been asked by the censor board to remove words like RSS and Akali from his film "Indu Sarkar", says he doesn't wish to make changes as he fears its essence will get affected.
Bhandarkar had screened the film on the 1975-77 Emergency for the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) committee on Monday. They suggested 12 cuts and two disclaimers, leaving the filmmaker appalled.
Asked about his next move, Bhandarkar told IANS: "I don't want to change anything since it will affect the essence of my film. We will go to the Revising Committee first. Hope it gets cleared there. If not, we will have no option but to go to the Tribunal."
They have also been asked to do away with dialogues such as "Bharat ki ek beti ne desh ko bandi banaya hua hai", "Aur tum log zindagi bhar maa-bete ki gulami karte raho ge", shared the film's makers.
Is imposing such cuts a reflection of the CBFC's political views?
"You should ask them that," said the National Award winning filmmaker.
Starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, Kirti Kulhari, Supriya Vinod, Anupam Kher and Tota Roy Chowdhury, the film has characters inspired by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi.
The forthcoming film has already drawn the ire of the Congress party. Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam had last week penned a letter to CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani, asking for the movie to be screened for them before it is censored.
It has also been attacked by Priya Singh Paul, a woman who claims to be Sanjay Gandhi's daughter.
Bhandarkar had earlier said: "I have no agenda to promote any specific political ideology. The film is showing the conflicts of two different ideologies on the Emergency."
"Indu Sarkar" is set to release on July 28.
