Pahlaj Nihalani, former CBFC chief and veteran producer, was in the midst of several controversies when he was the chief of the censor board. He has spoken about the Udta Punjab controversy, recalling how the film became the centre of a major censorship debate. He further recalled how the co-producers of ‘Udta Punjab’, Jeetendra and Balaji Motion Pictures had approached the CBFC to secure certification along with the suggested edits. He said during a chat with Pinkvilla, “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,” he explained. Nihalani alleged that Phantom Films’ Anurag Kashyap intentionally pushed the release back until six days before its premiere because, according to him, the movie wasn’t “hot enough.”He didn’t hold back on his criticism of the current CBFC functioning either. “There’s so much tension at the CBFC today because Prasoon Joshi 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,” Nihalani remarked. Reflecting on how things changed after he stepped down in 2016, Nihalani pointed out the rapid rise of streaming platforms. Around the same time, actor Vivek Oberoi, then working on Prime Video’s Inside Edge, had spoken of the ease of OTT projects since they were free from Nihalani’s oversight as he is now no longer the chief of CBFC. Nihalani responded sharply: “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?” He also revealed he had been invited twice to return as CBFC chief but turned it down, describing the position as “thankless.”He further suggested revisiting the adult certification system, hinting at subdivisions within the ‘A’ category. As he reminded, even something as minimal as a bikini scene once demanded an adult rating. His reflections not only revisit the Udta Punjab controversy but also shed light on the broader struggles around censorship and certification in Indian cinema. Go to Source
