After an intense legal battle with the Central Board of Film Certification, the makers of Udta Punjab have finally got their film to release in theatres on June 17.
But just two days prior to the release, the film leaked online.
In response, producer Anurag Kashyap posted a surprising plea on Facebook: He said he's 100% on-board with people pirating his film, as long as we wait until after it releases, just to stick it to the censors.
"I have never downloaded a film on torrent, I don't know how to. Yes, occasionally I have seen downloaded films borrowed from friends and found a way to pay for them later, by buying them on DVD or BluRay, and when I say this I also say that no one can stop your right to download a film. This time it's a different fight, it's a fight against censorship and if you are that audience that always downloads a film, then i won't ask you to not do that , please do, but wait till Saturday which is the day you would normally download a film. Piracy happens because of lack of access and in a world of free internet, I do not have a problem with it. My problem is that this time it's a case of vested interests trying to demoralise people from fighting for their rights. So all downloaders of Udta Punjab, I urge, wait till Saturday till you decide to not pay for the film, don't download and share, curb the curiosity for two more days. Thank you for reading this."
Kashyap's post has gained massive traction within half an hour of being posted and has been shared over a 1000 times already.
