Pahlaj Nihalani: I can understand Anurag Kashyap feeling happy about my departure

Ever since the news of Pahlaj Nihalani being replaced as the Chairperson of CBFC by Prakash Jha has reached the audiences, everybody has only been discussing about it, and people have been majorly expressing relief and happiness over this decision. Even many Bollywood celebs have expressed happiness over this huge decision and one amongst them is filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who faced quite a lot of trouble when his movie ‘Udta Punjab’ was in the hands of Nihalani.

Anurag spoke about the same to HT by saying, “Kal raat se mai bahut khush tha. Something you’ve been waiting for, and it suddenly happens, it’s like wow! Did this really happen? And that, too, before my film came out. Pahlajji was like a darbar (court) who’d sit down and make you stand and talk for three hours and lecture you how he’s better than you. It’s a very humiliating process that every filmmaker went through. It wasn’t a dialogue but only a monologue, where he would be the one talking; and he’d tell you what to do. There would be subtle threats and this and that… You have no idea what kind of a relief this is!” (Also Read: Pahlaj Nihalani ousted from CBFC due to Ekta Kapoor’s complaint to Smriti Irani?)

Now, ex-Chief of CBFC, Pahlaj Nihalani has spoken up on the same, to a leading news agency. Said Nihalani, “I can understand Anurag Kashyap feeling happy about my departure from the CBFC. He has been openly campaigning against my tenure as the CBFC chairperson. There is no hidden agenda in his malice. It’s all out in the open. I believe he has been singing songs after my exit from the CBFC. Glad to bring happiness in his life. But some of the others ‘welcoming the change’ have been telling me on my face that they had no problem with me at the CBFC. And now they say they’re happy to see me go?”

He further said, “There were derogatory references to caste and community which I couldn’t allow. The next thing I heard is that the film’s hero had complained to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry about my high-handedness. God bless him and all the others who are celebrating my departure.”

He has been replaced by Prasoon Joshi and we are expecting a better system in CBFC now.

Prajakta Ajgaonkar

Passionate about writing, and a Bollywood lover, she is all that is sweet and endearing! She desires to put her best foot forward in everything that she does and loves to help anyone who’s in need.