Nihalani removed as censor board chief

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday replaced Pahlaj Nihalani with songwriter-poet Prasoon Joshi as the chairperson of the censor board. Joshi was appointed with immediate effect for a period of three years or until further orders, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said in a release.

The information and broadcasting ministry on Friday reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), removing Pahlaj Nihalani as chairperson and replacing him with noted adman and lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

Joshi will function in an honorary capacity and will not draw any salary.

Among other appointments announced were those of actor Vidya Balan and Vivek Agnihotri. TS Nagabharana and Vani Tripati have been retained.

Nihalani, whose term was to end next January, has often courted controversy for trying to censor films and refusing certification. Speculation of a pre-term removal had gained traction when he recently stalled Madhur Bhandarkar’s Indu Sarkar, a film based on the Emergency.

While announcing Joshi’s appointment for three years or till further notice, the ministry did not specify any reason for Nihalani’s ouster.

Nihalani, who earned the epithet “Sanskari Nihalani” (cultured), was slammed for compelling film makers to edit, mute and shorten dialogues and scenes that he found improper for universal viewing.

He hit the headlines a few weeks ago when he refused even adult certification for the movie Babumoshai Bandookbaz unless the makers agreed to 48 cuts. He sought 12 cuts in Indu Sarkar, and asked the makers of The Argumentative Indian, a documentary on Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, to drop words such as “cow”, “Hindutva” and “Gujarat” from the movie.

Nihalani frequently locked horns with film-makers, who accused him of impinging on their creative freedom, and this was the prime reason for the I&B ministry to form a panel under acclaimed film maker Shyam Benegal to suggest a revamp for the film certification board.

The suggestion of the Benegal Committee are being incorporated into the revised Cinematography Act, which will see the powers of the CBFC diluted to give film makers more leeway by granting more categories for films with adult content.

Nihalani, who was appointed to the CBFC, worked with the BJP ahead of the 2014 general elections and is credited with the making of music videos ‘Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi’ and ‘Mera Desh Hai Mahaan’.