Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; October 5, 2017)

Among the most bitter criticisms that Pahlaj Nihalani faced during his tenure as CBFC chief was for censoring a kissing scene in the Hollywood film, Spectre (2015). “A kissing scene in Tom Cruise’s American Made has been curtailed by 50 per cent by the CBFC. Why is no one objecting to this now,” Nihalani chides, pointing out to the decision taken under the watch of new chief Prasoon Joshi.

Though Nihalani was pulled up for censoring scenes in Bollywood films, he often directed attention towards the archaic guidelines of the 1952 Cinematography Act, which, he said, directed his decisions. His claims gained credence only recently, when Joshi’s appointment brought little respite to filmmakers.

He accuses his contemporaries of making him a scapegoat to criticize the Censor Board. “Take Hansal Mehta for instance. During my tenure, I gave Aligarh (2016) an A certificate and asked him to tone down a yawning scene in the courtroom, since it amounted to contempt of court. He revolted by going to the Tribunal. Now, there were 12 cuts demanded in Simran, and he obliged.”

The producer terms the Shyam Benegal committee report, which is being upheld as the tool that should define how the CBFC functions, “useless”. “Benegal is a problematic filmmaker anyway. He has never been in favour of certifications. We need a six-level rating system because films are changing. Before the committee was formed, I had pointed out that freedom of expression will be lost if we continue certifying films as per the old guidelines.”