CBFC member files complaint against `autocratic' Nihalani

Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet was cleared with a UA certificate last Friday by the Revising Committee (RC), after the Examining Committee (EC) argued that excessive violence and abusive language made it apt for adult viewing.
READ: 'Bombay Velvet' gets U/A rating from Revising Committee of Censor Board
Now, in a letter, a copy of which is with Mirror, it has been revealed that in a complete breach of rules, the RC had the same members (among a few others) who were on the EC.The screening was presided over by CBFC Chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani who insisted on three cuts he snipped a kiss between Ranbir and Anushka, and insisted on editing out the words, `son of a bitch' and `haraamzaada'.
Senior Board member, Nandini Sardesai told Mirror she has filed a complaint against Nihalani and his autocratic ways with the Information & Broadcasting Ministry. She's also written to Union I&B Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
Listen to the songs of Bombay Velvet on Gaana.com
In mid-March, Rathore in a closed-door meeting with Bollywood bigwigs had stated that the CBFC's job is “not censorship, but certification" and Nihalani had “no business sitting in on Examining or Revising Committee screenings." Clearly, his lip-service hasn't translated into action. “It is unprecedented. Never in the history of CBFC has the RC had the same members as the EC. Nihalani claims he's following the book, but he's been flouting rules left, right and centre," says an aggrieved Sardesai who after reading the Mirror report about the film going to the RC, requested Nihalani if she could chair the screening. “A day before the screening, he told me he isn't aware when it's happening, then presides over it. I've taken the matter up with the Ministry. There has to be a solution to this autocratic nightmare." Pahlaj Nihalani chose not to respond.
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