Pahlaj Nihalani: It is not my job to edit Maggi from the song

Pahlaj Nihalani refuses to cut it out of a song in a Sindhi friend's film.
Banega chand ka chewing gum, chalo fugge udaate hain... Laga ke dal main tadka, chalo Maggi banate hain... These are lines from a song hummed by four teenagers in the upcoming film, Uvaa.Directed by Jasbir B Bhatti, the film features Jimmy Shergill as a cop, and wrestler and Bigg Boss finalist Sangram Singh as a sports teacher.The film follows the four youths who go off the grid after they become embroiled in a gang rape.
The catchy song became a cause for worry for the makers when the popular two-minute noodle snack was banned in several states across India for containing higher than permissible amounts of lead.In Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, Maggi has gone off the shelves while in the other states results of the tests ordered are awaited. Following the outcry in India, Nepal and Singapore too have suspended sales of the noodles imported from India. The UK is also look ing into the matter.
READ: Censor Board controversies
What's more, a court in Muzaffarpur, Uttar Pradesh, has direct ed the authorities to lodge FIRs against Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta who were the brand ambassadors for the product.
In the midst of he contro versy, Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, Pahlaj Nihalani, on Friday, was the chief guest at the film's music launch. He was seen tapping his foot to the Maggi number. When quizzed on the subject, he told Mirror curtly, “It's no big deal. Maggi could be the name of a girl or of any other product. There can be many kinds of Maggi."
Nihalani, who has passed the film with a UA certificate, adds that there is absolutely no need to edit out the song or ask for any kind of cuts. “The Maggi ban has made news only recently. Just because I have ordered some cuts in the past, it doesn't mean that I will cut everything out of a film. It is not my job to edit Maggi from the song. The film could have had some kind of marketing tie-up with the company, who am I to interfere?“ he reiterates.
Meanwhile, producer Dhanraj Jethani is rejoicing because his now-controversial song has been retained, intact. “We had conceptualised and filmed the song a month before the ban and we are delighted that it has been passed by the CBFC," he exulted. “External forces should never impact a filmmaker's creativity."
Nihalani, who has made headlines for his cuss list since becoming censor chief, acknowledges his friendship with every Bollywood filmmaker and insists he doesn't wish to harm their films. “I was on stage to extend my support to a friend and his film. I'm a Sindhi and so is the maker of this film," he reasons.
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