Pahlaj Nihalani has reportedly turned distributor for the ‘A’ rated film Julie 2. At a press conference held in Mumbai, the former CBFC chairman defended his film. Sanskaari Nihalani, who preached that the word ‘intercourse’ couldn’t be used in a film, and who would often cut the duration of on-screen kisses, is going to be distributing an erotic film worldwide.
On being questioned about the hypocrisy, Nihalani says that the word “intercourse” was removed from Jab Harry Met Sejal because it was a U/A film, while he himself is promoting Raai Laxmi’s Julie 2 as a film with an ‘Adult’ certification.
Also Read: Nihalani Backs the Bold ‘Julie 2’ Trailer, Twitter Loves the Irony
He also said that this is his “original business” and that he doesn’t understand why the media is questioning it. Nihalani seems to be having a hard time understanding why the media is unable to digest the news, when he himself is declaring Julie 2 as an adult film. This is what he had to say:
Despite it all, Nihalani’s humour seems to have remained intact.
But here’s our bone of contention with Mr Nihalani. Numerous ‘A’ certified films were prescribed cuts under his chairmanship, let us remind you -
1. Lipstick Under My Burkha - Pahlaj Nihalani called Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burkha a “lady-oriented” film and denied it certification altogether. The film underwent 27 cuts before it was finally passed with an ‘A’ certificate.
2. NH10 - Anushka Sharma’s hardhitting flick was prescribed 9 cuts and was released with an ‘A’ certificate.
3. Udta Punjab - Pahlaj Nihalani had demanded 89 cuts in the film when it came to the CBFC the first time around. But its makers finally settled for 13 cuts and an ‘A’ certificate.
While these are only a few examples, it lays bare Mr Nihalani’s double standards and that’s our problem with it. As the former CBFC chief gets a taste of his own medicine, we wonder why he seems to have forgotten his own ambiguous definition of ‘Adult’ certification so easily.
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