Prasoon Joshi

Looks like the exit of Pahlaj Nihalani is bearing fruit already! Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), now headed by renowned lyricist and ad-man Prasoon Joshi, has apparently given nod to a film with frontal nudity.

As per reports by Subhash K Jha, the concerned film is titled ‘Umeed’ and has been helmed by Rajat S Mukherjee. Revolving around drug tests that are performed on children, the film is said to be featuring a sequence wherein a model walks the ramp, with bare torso. (Also Read: Ekta speaks about being blamed for Pahlaj Nihalani’s exit from CBFC)

“We’ve cut only a shot showing a picture of Mrs Indira Gandhi. We are not allowed to cut anything at the moment for fear of being answerable to the I & B, the high command. The brief from the top is to let everything go. If a film is certified ‘A’ it can get away with anything. Those kinds of films that were earlier getting ‘U/A’ certificates are now getting ‘U’ certificates,” a source from CBFC told him.

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Apparently, the I&B Ministry has instructed the board to just certify and not censor. This introduces us to the ideal method of certification, which is prevalent in a number of countries. In fact, down the West, films are certified in accordance with age groups. Nihalani, who exited amid a great deal of controversies, later claimed he already sent his recommendations to the ministry which included the above point as well.

However, it is good to see that nudity isn’t becoming a barrier and no more causing troubles in release of films!