Pahlaj Nihalani and the CBFC have been criticised for allegedly making sexist comments about Babumoshai Bandookbaz’s producer, Kiran Shroff. At a screening of the film, a lady officer from the CBFC reportedly insulted Shroff on her attire and for her decision to produce a ‘vulgar’ film.
Nihalani also asked for 48 cuts to be made in the film, a move which has enraged the film industry.
In an interview with DNA, Nihalani claimed that all such allegations were false.
“Kushan [Nandy] is lying. No untoward incident happened with his producer. If that was the case, why didn’t he mention the incident when he met me? Yes, he met me after his film was rejected by our Examining Committee for what he called a ‘private meeting’.”
Nihalani says that Nandy tried to use his political connections to threaten him, and that he is being provoked to badmouth him.
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“Since I was brought in as the chairperson, these handful of team members have been working against the CBFC’s interests. They want to project themselves as the liberal forces, never mind if they end up flouting CBFC guidelines and rules,” Nihalani said.
The CBFC has found itself in one controversy after another ever since Nihalani took over from Leela Samson as CBFC Chief. Recently, Nihalani made news for refusing to certify Malayalam film, Ka Bodyscapes.
Pic: India Today