Udta Punjab (2016)

Udta Punjab (transl. Flying Punjab) is a 2016 Indian Punjabi and Hindi-language crime drama film written and directed by Abhishek Chaubey, co-written by Sudip Sharma, and produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Sameer Nair and Aman Gill under Balaji Motion Pictures in association with Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl and Vikramaditya Motwane under Phantom Films. Loosely based on and revolving around the drug abuse by the youth population in the Indian state of Punjab and the various conspiracies surrounding it, the film stars an ensemble cast of Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh.

The film faced pre-release controversy, particularly from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and some political figures in Punjab, who accused it of defaming the state by exaggerating or misrepresenting the drug crisis ahead of the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. Post-release, the film was generally well-received for highlighting a genuine public health issue, though some critics and commentators argued that it overemphasised addiction among ethnic Punjabi youth. On 4 June 2016, the Central Board of Film Certification, India sought a stay on the film's release citing that the themes dealt with in the film were too vulgar for the general audience. As a result, the producers were directed to make a total of 89 cuts in the film. However, on 13 June 2016, the Bombay High Court struck down the stay and gave permission for the film's national release, albeit with a single cut in the screenplay. The film was released worldwide on 17 June 2016. Made on a budget of ₹340 million (US$4.0 million), Udta Punjab was a commercial success and earned approximately ₹960 million (US$11 million) worldwide. It received acclaim from critics, with praise for its direction, story, screenplay, music and performances of the cast.

At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Udta Punjab received a leading 9 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Chaubey), Best Actor (Shahid Kapoor), Best Supporting Actress (Kapoor Khan) and Best Supporting Actor (Dosanjh), and won 4 awards including Best Actress (Bhatt) and Best Actor (Critics) (Shahid Kapoor).