We can't do anything till guidelines don't change, says Pahlaj Nihalani

He was by far one of the most controversial chairmen of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). While Pahlaj Nihalani is also tagged as sanskari in the industry, he went ahead and decided to present a bold film like Julie 2.

The former CBFC chief said it’s a clean film. He defends, “Where have we shown vulgarity in the poster? There is a Kingfisher calendar in every house today. If you think this is double standard, then what will you call condoms and lingerie ads on television?”

He then attacked actresses for their sartorial choices on the red carpet. He said, “When our actresses attend film premieres and walk the red carpet, what are they wearing? If the CBFC didn’t give a single cut to our movie, how can you say our film is an adult film? It’s double standards by the media — there is no sexual content and it’s a clean film as there is no obscenity.” Julie 2 is Deepak Shivdasani’s second film in the series. The first film released in 2004 and featured Neha Dhupia in the lead role. Julie 2 will release later this year.

Nihalani was in news almost every other day as the chairman of the CBFC. He was sacked but holds no grudge. He said, “I was thrown out and that’s okay. I have no complaints. If the industry wanted something, they got it. It’s not going to affect anything. We can’t do anything till the guidelines don’t change.”

He lashed out at the Committee chaired by Shyam Benegal. He said, “I still feel there should be a rating system. The Shyam Benegal report is useless. The Mudgal committee (which included former CBFC chairpersons Sharmila Tagore, Leela Samson and poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar) was better than Shyam Benegal. He (Shyam Benegal) was a problematic maker. He has always made ‘A’-rated content films and he has not favoured certification. So his vision is different,” he added.