Hacker Cinema
Udta Punjab
उड़ता पंजाब
2016 · Film · 148 min
Directed by Abhishek Chaubey
Drug abuse and the darker side of Punjab rear their heads in the intense, interwoven tales of a policeman, a doctor, a migrant worker, and a rockstar.
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3 comments on Hacker News
The linked article[1] says that Punjab police (state police in India) shot down the drones. I am curious how the police even detected these drones. State police / local police in India is unlikely to have resources for electronic warfare or RF (radio frequency) detection.
Fun fact : one method of drug transfer (mentioned in popular media) from Pakistan (bordering Punjab) to Punjab is discus throw [2]. Here, a local athlete takes a disk of drugs and throws it over the border which is then intercepted by dealers in Punjab. A great movie about the drug trade in Punjab is "Udta Punjab" (literally translated as flying-Punjab or high-Punjab).
I can only imagine how many drones they missed. Drones usually fly at an altitude that our eye can't see. The drone operators must be smart enough to fly during cloudy days and during night time making binoculars useless as well. My best guess would be ground intelligence by police.
I am a bit surprised that drug trade in a state in India is using drones. The cost of drones (even commercial ones cost ~$500) is a pretty steep one when converted to Indian currency (~40,000 INR). The article[1] states that the police shot down >100 drones = INR 40,00,000. There must be a lot of money in local drugs in Punjab for the operators to be willing to sacrifice 100+ drones.
[1] https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/107-drones-shot-down-442-kg-heroin-seized-in-2023-in-punjab-bsf-101704045498166.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discus_throw
On other note, "Udta Punjab" may be the first movie to receive A/C (adult with caution) certification as recommended by Shyam Benegal Committee.
Source : http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/udta-punjab-row-shyam-benegal-panel-suggests-adult-with-caution-category-2844265/
'Udta Punjab' is not "banned" anywhere. CBFC asked them to make a huge number of cuts including those you mention in order to get an 'A' certificate. The producers took them to court and have so far only conceded one cut: depicting the rock star protagonist high and pissing on the audience during a concert. The Bombay High Court has slammed the CBFC (aka 'censor' board) for overreaching reminding them that censorship is not part of their mandate. The official verdict is on Monday but so far it looks like the movie will be passed with no other cuts. Also, there is an appellate tribunal in the CBFC which reverses its decisions on specific cuts for the most part but they weren't invoked in this case because of the shortage of time.
So yes, the CBFC did probably do what they did under political pressure but the politicians don't control everything in the end.