Former Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief, Pahlaj Nihalani, who was known to give grief to filmmakers on the pretext of morality and protecting Indian culture, will now be distributing bold thriller Julie 2 worldwide.
Nihalani was recently sacked from his post by the newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani. He was replaced with noted lyricist Prasoon Joshi.
According to a report by Mumbai Mirror, the controversial former CBFC chief has decided to present Deepak Shivdasani’s ‘bold, beautiful and blessed’ Julie 2, featuring actor Raai Laxmi in the lead.
Deepak told Mumbai Mirror, “I started writing the script in 2012 and had discussed the idea with Pahlajji then. He loved it. He is family and after seeing it with his wife recently he told me ‘Yeh film ab meri hai,’ and will be presenting it.”
On whether Nihalani, known for being sanskari, objected to proposal on the grounds of morality, Deepak said that since it was ‘content-driven film and Pahlajji had no objections to any of the scenes.’
This is how Nihalani responded to when contacted by the paper for his reaction, “My last films were Sridevi’s Tamil film Puli, followed by the 2016 Iranian-Indian drama Salaam Mumbai. My family loved Julie 2, it’s a bold thriller about how talented people come into the industry and then are forced to compromise. It’s a good expose with a message for aspiring actors who come from across the county and don’t get the right people or platform.”
Nihalani had recently blamed Irani for his removal from the post. He said it was Irani’s ego that became responsible for his exit.
Nihalani had courted several controversies for his insane decisions to censor Bollywood movies. Most recently, he had raised objection on the use of word ‘intercourse’ in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Harry Met Sejal. He had later bizarrely asked the TV channel, Mirror Now, to collect 1 lakh votes for him to clear the scene with word ‘intercourse.’ However, when the channel indeed obtained 1 lakh votes, Nihalani was seen scurrying for cover from the TV camera.
He had also famously refused to clear a documentary on Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal.