Prasoon Joshi bans Toofan Singh: Here's all you need to know about the controversial Punjabi movie

The Indian film fraternity rejoiced when sanskari Pahlaj Nihalani was dethroned as the chief of The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) aka censor board. With the appointment of Prasoon Joshi, many filmmakers and actors welcomed him with open arms. Everyone expected that he would encourage creative freedom. However, Joshi just proved it wrong by banning the first film that came under his consideration.

A Punjabi movie, titled Toofan Singh, was submitted to the censor board for consideration and Joshi has banned it. The film star one of Punjabi cinema's popular faces Ranjit Bawa and is directed by Baghal Singh.

Also Read: Is Ekta Kapoor the reason behind Pahlaj Nihalani's ouster as censor board chief? 

The movie has been banned on the grounds that it features excessive violent visuals. The film is reportedly based on the life of Jugraj Singh "Toofan", a Khalistani militant who was killed in an encounter at the age of 19. The film focuses on Bawa's character resorting to terrorist tactics to fight corruption in bureaucracy and politics.

A source from CBFC told DNA, "Toofan Singh is a terrorist, who goes on a rampage killing corrupt cops and politicians. And they've compared him to Bhagat Singh. The film is brutal and anarchic. We couldn't empathise with its message of brute power, let alone grant it a censor certificate."

It is interesting to note that the Punjabi movie has been released internationally. According to box office tracking website, The Numbers, Toofan Singh has been released in Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand and has earned $58,675.

This is not the first time that the controversial Punjabi movie has been submitted for clearance. Toofan Singh was in news last year as well. Hindustan Times notes that the censor board under Pahlaj Nihalani had declined to clear the movie.

"We met board chairman Pahlaj Nihalani but he couldn't help. We took the film to the revising committee," co-producer Jarnail Singh had told HT in July 2016. The film is produced by Royal Cine Arts and was shot in 16 months.

For those of you who don't know, Toofan was born in Sri Hargobindpur village in 1971. He joined Khalistan Liberation Force and soon became the Robin Hood of Punjab. It is believed that, when he was killed in 1990, more than one lakh people attended his funeral, leaving the roads between Amritsar and Beas blocked.