Pahlaj Nihalani is the new censor board chief: Lesser known facts about the ‘Shola Aur Shabnam’ director

Pahlaj Nihalani produced his first movie ‘Hathkadi’ in 1982, starring Sanjeev Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha and Reena Roy. The movie did quite well.

‘Aandhi – Toofan’ (1985), starring Shatrughan Sinha and Hema Malini, was Nihalani’s second movie. The movie didn’t really do well. His next film ‘Ilzaam’ (1986), starred Govinda and Neelam Kothari and gave Govinda a perfect launch pad.

‘Aag Hi Aag’ (1987), starring Dharmendra and Chunky Pandey, was Nihalani’s first hit. This was Pandey’s debut movie. Paap Ki Duniya (1988) was another hit.

Through 1989 to 1991, movies like ‘Mitti Aur Sona’ starring Chunky Pandey and Neelam Kothari, ‘Aag Ka Gola’ (1990) starring Sunny Deol and Dimple Kapadia and First Love Letter (1991) starring Vivek Mushran and Manisha Koirala didn’t do any good to Nihalani’s career.

The 1992 release ‘Shola Aur Shabnam’ featuring Govinda and Divya Bharati was a big hit and made Nihalani a force to reckon with in the industry. The 1993 release ‘Aankhen’, starring Govinda and Chunky Pandey became a cult entertainer.

‘Andaz’ (1994), starring Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, ‘Dil Tera Diwana’ (1996) starring Saif Ali Khan and Twinkle Khanna, ‘Bhai Bhai’ (1997) also flopped badly, directorial debut ‘Uljhan’ (2001) also couldn’t create any magic.

Pahlaj Nihalani’s last movie was ‘Talaash: the Hunt Begins’ in 2003, starring Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. Despite the starcast, the movie didn’t manage to rake in numbers at the Box Office.

Nihalani recently made a special appearance in the film Halla Bol (2008).