The better part of Udta Punjab was leaked online and downloaded many times today, prompting an executive of its production company to suggest that the censor board had tried to sabotage the film two days before its release.

Neither the chairman nor the CEO of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) was available for comment in spite of repeated attempts by this newspaper to contact them.

The leak has taken place in the middle of preparations by the producers to release the movie on Friday after winning a court battle against the board that had prescribed many cuts.

Sources in Anurag Kashyap's Phantom Films, the co-producers of the film, said they received a message around 1pm yesterday that two long clips of the film - lasting about 2 hours 20 minutes and 40 minutes - were available for download on illegal websites where pirated versions of films are put up. The entire film is 2 hours and 45 minutes long.

Read more