What did 'Sanskaari' censor board chief do in his tenure?
Several in the industry welcomed this decision and were relieved with his exit.
Ever since appointment of Pahlaj Nihalani as the head of the Central Board of Film Certification in January 2015, he has made headlines for all the wrong reasons. His decisions and comments have embroiled into controversy at numerous times. Infamously called as 'Sanskaari' (sarcastically cultured) chief in the film fraternity, he was finally sacked on Friday and noted lyricist Prasoon Joshi has been made the new chief.
Several in the industry welcomed this decision and were relieved with his exit. He had been a nightmare for filmmakers. Producer-director Mukesh Bhatt had once said that Pahlaj can "only do harm to the industry', Another director Hansal Mehta preferred selling underwear on the streets than use Nihalani for publicity. Swara Bhaskar too, in an open letter, asked the former chief to stop policing and not to sanitize art. Not only the film fraternity but also a member of CBFC, Ashoke Pandit, once called him an 'anarchist'.
Here is what Nihalani did during his two-year tenure as CBFC chairperson
1.
In
April
2014,
he
produced
a
campaign
video
for
BJP's
prime
ministerial
candidate
Narendra
Modi
titled
'Har
Har
Modi'.
2.
In
January
2015,
he
was
appointed
as
CBFC
chief
3.
In
January
2015,
in
one
of
his
first
interviews
he
said
that
certain
cuss
words
will
not
be
tolerated
in
films.
He
suggested
a
list
of
words
that
shouldn't
be
used
without
a
solid
context.
4.
In
October
2015,
As
a
censor
board
chief
he
ordered
to
trim
down
a
kissing
scene
in
the
latest
James
Bond
franchise,
Spectre,
and
said
it
was
needed
to
keep
up
with
the
Indian
'sanskaars'.
(This
is
when
he
was
being
infamously
referred
as
sanskaari
chief)
5.
In
December
2015,
the
information
and
broadcasting
ministry
questioned
the
intent
behind
clearing
the
trailers
of
Kya
Kool
Hain
Hum
3
and
Mastizaade.
Nihalani
said
it
was
done
to
shed
the
board's
'sanskaari'
image.
6.
In
January
2016,
awarded
an
'A'
certificate
to
Hansal
Mehta's
film,
Aligarh,
for
its
themes
of
homosexuality.
7.
In
June
2016,
he
refused
to
certify
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui's
Haraamkhor,
a
film
that
was
released
a
year
later.
The
film's
theme
of
an
affair
between
a
school
teacher
and
his
underage
student
was
deemed
'unacceptable'.
8.
Again
in
June
2016,
Pahlaj
Nihalani
was
in
the
eye
of
the
storm
when
he
sharpened
his
scissors
and
suggested
89
cuts
in
Udta
Punjab
which
dealt
with
the
problem
of
drug
addiction
among
youth
in
Punjab.
He
suggested
removing
a
signboard
mentioning
Punjab
in
the
movie
among
other
suggestions.
9.
In
December
2016,
he
removed
dozens
of
kissing
scenes
from
Ranveer
Singh-starrer,
Befikre,
including
a
scene
witch
featured
homosexual
characters.
10.
In
July
2017,
he
refused
to
certify
Lipstick
Under
My
Burkha
for
being
too
'lady-oriented'.
11.
In
July
2017,
he
bans
smoking
and
drinking
from
films.
Addressed
for
the
first
time
rumours
of
his
being
sacked.
"If
now
I
am
asked
to
leave,
I'd
do
so
just
as
swiftly,
wishing
my
successor
all
the
best."
12.
In
August
2017,
he
was
sacked
as
the
CBFC
chief
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