Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
If there’s anything veteran producer and distributor Pahlaj Nihalani is known for more than his hits in the 1980s and ’90s, it’s his controversial reign as the Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) from 2015 to 2016. It peaked when he refused to grant certification to Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab in 2016 without the cuts he demanded. In a new interview, Nihalani clarified that co-producers of Udta Punjab, veteran actor Jeetendra and Balaji Motion Pictures CEO had visited the CBFC office to receive the certificate along with the cuts, but it was co-producer Anurag Kashyap of Phantom Films who didn’t want the film to release then because it wasn’t “hot enough” till six days before its release.
“We even passed the language of the film, wherever it deserved to be. Wherever it was necessary, you’d naturally get cuts, right? We just removed cusswords, didn’t alter even a single frame of the film,” claimed Nihalani in an interview with Pinkvilla. He alleged that it was part of Kashyap’s marketing strategy to stir a controversy to amplify the buzz for his film.
“There’s so much tension at the CBFC today because Prasoon Joshi (current Chairperson, screenwriter, and lyricist) doesn’t go to the office. The CEO, who has come in, is good. At least there’s some regularization at the CBFC because of him. Prasoon is the first Chairperson to have a reign of over seven years without attending office. It’d be a stretch to say he’s gone to the office even for seven days,” added Nihalani.
After Nihalani was sacked in 2016, it coincided with the advent of streaming in India. At that time, actor Vivek Oberoi, who was part of Prime Video India’s first Original show Inside Edge, claimed to Pinkvilla that it’s a relief that he’s now doing OTT shows because then he wouldn’t have to deal with Nihalani.
“Whenever Vivek Oberoi meets me, he greets me very warmly. Now, if he has to say something… is he even getting any films anymore? If he likes vulgarity, he should keep it to his personal life. Why do it in films?” added Nihalani. He claimed that he was offered to resume his role at the CBFC once before in 2002 and another time just last year. But he turned it down because he always felt it’s a “thankless” job.
Vivek Oberoi has diversified into real estate and entrepreneurship, in addition to progressing with his acting career.
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
