DID CENSORS DELAY BHATT’S FILM?
Mukesh Bhatt accuses censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani of unnecessarily withholding his project and causing delay in clearing it
The controversies surrounding the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refuse to subside. The latest is that board member Ashoke Pandit has accused its CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani of “illegally withholding” Mukesh Bhatt’s upcoming film. Bhatt, too, said that he could get the clearance for his film only after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) intervened.
“The board caused unnecessary delay in giving us a certificate. We needed to send the film to the laboratory for subtitles, as well as to the censors of various countries. Without the certificate, we could do nothing. So we approached the officials of the ministry, who intervened and got us the certificate. We are very thankful to the officials of the I&B Ministry, who opened the office for us on a Saturday (weekly off). The board should be a facilitator, but because of a few people, it has become a roadblock of sorts,” says Bhatt.
However, Nihalani is unperturbed by the attack, and says that he is only following the official process. “There is a process that takes about 21 days. The application of the film came to us on March 18, the examining committee saw the film on March 30, and the certificate was issued on April 4. Why will we delay it? We are here to help the fraternity, but we work within a framework and have to follow the process. If someone wants to know what we do on a day-to-day basis, they are free to file an RTI or visit me in my office.”