Lipstick Under My Burkha director Alankrita Shrivastava says that dealing with the CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani made her feel like a criminal, reports Mid-Day. The film had hit a roadblock with the CBFC before it was eventually cleared with an ‘A’ certificate for theatrical release. Earlier, Censor Board chief, Pahlaj Nihalani had refused to certify the movie on the controversial grounds that it was “lady oriented”.
The director talked to Mid-Day about her experiences with the Board and the Chairman when the film was screened for them. Nihalani, according to Shrivastava’s account, had said his issues did not revolve around a single scene but the film as a whole. She said, “He simply said, ‘we have made a unanimous decision that we won’t certify it.’ His secretary slyly asked if I had anything to say, as though I must beg or plead with them. This cannot be how a free country functions.”
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She also said that Nihalani made her feel like a criminal, “The Examining Committee was divided in its opinion, so, we approached the Revising Committee. Nihalani, who was present at the screening, made me feel like a criminal. Ideally, the CBFC committee and the director should sit across the table and discuss the concerns objectively. But, in India, your fate is declared like a judgment.”
The movie is slated to release on July 21. It stars Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkana Sen Sharma, Aahana Kumra, Plabita Borthakur and Vikrant Massey.