Chaired by Pahlaj Nihalani, the run-ins of Central Board of Film Certification with movie makers is not rare. The censor board has the reputation of mercilessly running scissors on movies. But this time the board has made it to headlines not because it truncated scenes but it simply denied certification to two movies. Interestingly, both the films are stuck with the board because of how they picture Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
One of the films, Modi Ka Gaon. is centred around the Prime Minister’s rural development scheme. It also has an actor playing the PM. The issue the censor board is reported to have with this film is that it doesn’t follow the guidelines mandatory to portray national leaders.
Defending the step taken on the movie, Nihalani told a leading daily, Since the guidelines on politicians and national leaders are very clear all we asked the producer to do was to get an NOC (no objection certificate) from the prime minister’s office. What is so objectionable about our request?
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The other movie stuck with the board is titled Rambhajjan Zindabad, which is a political satire. The board said Kulbhushan Kharbhanda’s character inspired by PM Modi
It’s extremely vulgar. The language used for women is inexcusably coarse. It trivialises rape by showing women being given ‘compensation’ for their ordeal. We cannot allow this film to be certified.
Rambhajjan Zindabad is also the last film in which late Om Puri acted. Speaking on this Pahlaj said the makers should stop trying to gain sympathy by touting it as Om Puri’s last project.
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Pahlaj Nihalani added:
Omji, God bless his soul, did Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House and Kabir Khan’s Tubelight, which will release later. Thank God Omji‘s admirers don’t have to remember him by Rambhajjan Zindabad.
The CBFC chief slammed makers for using the board to garner publicity for their films. Let us see if the films see release after all or not.
