The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), refused to certify his next film, "War and Peace", released in 2002. The board demanded 21 cuts before it would be certified. Patwardhan took the government to court, leading to the film being banned for over a year. However, after a court battle, Patwardhan won the right to screen his film without a single cut. As with his previous films, Patwardhan also successfully fought to force a reluctant national broadcaster, Doordarshan, to show this film on their national network. It was commercially released in multiplexes in 2005.