Ever since Pahlaj Nihalani took over as chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), controversies over censorship have become more frequent. Not surprising because the man has view on everything from how long James Bond should kiss to Jungle Book being too scary.
From cutting short Bond's kisses in Spectre to proposing 89 cuts on Anurag Kashyap-produced Udta Punjab seems to only prove Nihalani's self-declared 'sanskari' ways.
Here's a look at the more controversial and troll-worthy quotes from Pahlaj Nihalani:
1. CBFC gave Jungle Book a U/A. And Nihalani's reason: it was "too scary". What about Winnie the Pooh then.
2. Regarding Tanmay Bhat's recent spoof video on Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar, Nihalani said the "spoof video is a mockery of democracy. He (Tanmay Bhat) is a repeat offender and should be booked under MCOCA and not given bail."
If that was a mockery of democracy, what about this video below?
3. In an interview with The Hindu, Nihalani was asked whether he wasn't being too conservative in recommending cuts to films. His reply: "I don't mind being called 'Sanskari' (conservative), if it is in the national interest."
Sniff, sniff. Spoler alert: heavy cuts coming soon to protect Indian culture.
4. Director Hansal Mehta was shocked by the A cert given to his film Aligarh, and described the board as“homophobic”. Nihalani tried to defend the board's decision, asking "Is homosexuality a subject for kids, teens?"
How do you think gay teens can come out of the closet?
5. While many film personalities and the public have hit out at Nihalani for his approach to certifying films, especially for the James Bond flick Spectre. Nihalani tried to justify the cuts by saying that "the censor board had nothing against James Bond kissing. But the length of the kisses were unnecessarily excessive."
Well we must not forget that the kiss scene duration from the movie Tamasha too was reduced.
6. Last but not the least, while both CBFC and Udta Punjab producers agree that there was no political pressure behind the censorship of the film. Nihalani came up with this staggering claim: "I've heard Anurag Kashyap has taken money from AAP to show Punjab in a bad light."
So much for Anurag's Twitter plea.