‘Omerta’ release postponed after censor hurdle over national anthem

Hansal Mehta’s gritty, raw, brutal and disturbing ‘Omerta’, the film about the global terror activities of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, has finally been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification with an ‘A’ certificate.

Mehta, who has in the past fought many brave battles with the censor board, was ready for a long grim fight to ensure nothing was tampered with in ‘Omerta’. In an earlier interview, he had said he would not allow even a single cut.

However, only one major cut has been ordered. It is the sequence where Sheikh, essayed by actor Rajkummar Rao, is seen urinating in prison while the Indian national anthem plays outside. (Also Check: Rajkummar Rao promotes ‘Omerta’ with swag. View Pics!)

The censor board has asked for the national anthem to be removed from this offensive scene.

‘Omerta’ producer Furquan Khan said: “We’ve been asked to remove the national anthem from that sequence and replace it with routine background music. We happily complied and walked away with an ‘A’ certificate which the film deserves.”

Talking about the pushing the release ahead, Mehta said, “We knew that it wouldn’t be a cake walk with the Censor Board given that the film has a fair bit of violence and strong language. We didn’t want cuts that would take away the essence of the film, so we had to wait. The Censor Board Chief and members of the revising committee understood how certain scenes could not be removed since they are essential for audiences to understand how a terrorist’s mind works. Hence the wait and that’s why a decision has been taken to release ‘Omerta’ on May 4th.”

The producer of the film, Nahid Khan added, “The team was waiting for CBFC’s clearance for the film. We’re happy to announce May 4th as the release date for ‘Omerta’. We know audiences are eagerly awaiting the film’s release. It’s just a small change of two weeks. We don’t mind the delay as long as we have managed to keep the essence of the film intact.”

The film, which was scheduled to release on Friday, is now being readied for a May 4 release when it will rub shoulders with Umesh Shukla’s Amitabh Bachchan-Rishi Kapoor father-son comedy ‘102 Not Out’.