Subhash K Jha (DNA; July 12, 2017)

It has come to light that producers, in a hurry to undertake the process of film distribution days before release, have been sending off their films without proper censor certification. Livid and armed with a long list of culpable producers, CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani says the board is all set to take the strongest criminal action against the practitioners of this offence.

Devious method
Says Nihalani, “Producers have been sending off their films overseas without proper censor certification for many years now. Earlier deadlines could be beaten by ‘purchasing’ censor certificates for as little as Rs 10,000. I put an end to this unsavoury practice. So producers found a new devious method of beating the deadline. They dispatch their films to the overseas market without certificates or with wrong certificates.”

Duping by duplicity
“Wrong certificate is explained as… inserting an old film’s censor certificate with a new release. Nobody checks the details on the certificate, so producers get away with this duplicity. We have a list of filmmakers who have indulged in this criminal practice. And we tend to initiate the strongest legal action against anyone, who dispatches films to overseas territories without a proper censor certificate,” warns Nihalani.

Incomplete films
He also admits that producers are in the habit of submitting incomplete films for certification. “They come without the full background score, or incomplete dubbing or a missing song. Let me inform them that this is against the rules. Films must be submitted only after it is complete. Nothing can be added after it is handed over to the censors.”