Pahlaj Nihalani: “CBFC has no meaning now”

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani has had a tough time recently after the Bombay High Court overruled the board’s decision of 89 cuts in ‘Udta Punjab’.

Nihalani has opened up after the court’s order for the first time. He was cited in Economic Times saying, ���Doors for films with obscene, vulgar content are open now�۝.

He added that the CBFC has lost meaning after the verdict, ���It is undoubtedly a good judgement for the producers. I have been a producer too, so I am glad everyone is relieved today. From now, producers will start approaching the court for every single cut suggested by the CBFC…But the CBFC has lost its meaning today. As the chairman of the CBFC, I have come to know that the board is not here to censor movies. I just want to point out that when the name of the board was changed from ��censor�۪ to ��certification�۪, the 1952 Cinematograph Act that it follows, and its rule book were not changed. We were just following those, and doing our job. I had put in place a proper system. We were doing what was expected of us ��� to ensure films are free of content that is unnecessarily abusive and defamatory. But from today, the producers are free to produce anything they want.�۝