Pahlaj Nihalani objects to British certification

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has cleared Padmavati with no cuts, but has restricted its viewing to audiences above the age of 12 years, for its “minor violence”. The movie can also be released in the UK as per its old schedule of December 1.

However, the producers Viacom 18 Motion Pictures won’t release the movie anywhere abroad unless Padmavati has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), on the same day as its release in India.

Former chairperson of CBFC, Pahlaj Nihalani, wonders how movies can be sent to the overseas boards, without clearance in India. “This is against the law,” he says. “You can’t send your film, or any other Indian goods for that matter, out of the country, without the clearance of the government. If a film isn’t cleared by the CBFC, it cannot go abroad. However, for decades now, film producers have been following this practice of sending their film for certification to foreign countries, without obtaining clearance from the CFBC. Now, with films going digital, they don’t even have to pass through immigration. I think the practice of allowing films to go out of the country without a certificate shouldn’t be legalised.”