Arvind Kejriwal documentary: Censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani wants NoC from PM Narendra Modi

The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and has since been screened at 40 festivals across the world. Over the next few weeks, it will be screened in Sydney, New Zealand, and Washington.

As per a report by the Mumbai Mirror, the documentary makers were asked by the Censor Board to delete all references to the BJP and the Congress and also submit NoCs from PM Modi, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, and Kejriwal, among others. As per the report, when they approached Pahlaj Nihalani, he “threw them out of his office” saying he didn’t owe them an explanation.

The filmmakers said they applied for certification in February. “At the end of the screening for the Censor Board’s examining committee, we were told the members didn’t want to speak to us or even hear us out. When we asked if they had any concerns, we were told that everything would be conveyed to us in a letter which arrived 10 days later,” Shukla said.

A screening was then organised for the revising committee, which was attended by Nihalani. At the end of it, the filmmakers were told that the CBFC wanted them to delete six references to the BJP and the Congress and get the NOCs.

The filmmaker said even Kejriwal, who allowed them to record him, was non-committal when they asked him about his views on the documentary. “All he said was, ‘it’s interesting’,” Ranka said.

Ranka and Shukla said they were surprised at the censor board’s statements that the documentary was “potentially damaging” to Kejriwal, and that it was passed without any cuts. Nihalani has already stated that no film should be allowed to be screened in festivals abroad without a certificate from the censor board.

Nihalani too shared his view on this matter and said, “When Karan Johar used Raveena Tandon’s name in a film, he got NoC from her. Ditto the makers of Jolly LLB 2 for a reference to Salman Khan. In this case, as they have referred to Mr Modi, Mr Kejriwal, and Ms Sheila Dixit among others, they should get NoCs from them. They say they have permission to use the footage but we don’t know that for a fact. So the NoC is a reasonable demand.”