Musharraf plays spoil sport, Censor Board clamps down on War Chhod Na Yaar

For the makers of India’s first anti-war satire it was a touch-and-go situation when the Censor Board Of Film Certification suddenly decided to clamp down on War Chhod Na Yaar, throwing their schedules in a tizzy. And it was a reference to General Pervez Musharraf which had the Censor Board suddenly clamping down on the film. Says the film’s producer Prashanth Narayan, “We showed the film on Monday to the Censor Board. 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.” The next day, however Prashanth was in for a shock when he was refused the censor certificate. “I was told the film has gone to the Revising Committee because of the reference to General Musharraf. We had to cut the reference to the General. My argument is not about the cut. But I want to know why we were not told about the necessary changes when we first went to the censors. The delay had a snowballing effect. The prints took longer to be readied and the distribution process was delayed. We lost precious time,” says Prashanth sadly.