Pahlaj Nihalani: India’s moral compass!

There has been much anger over the refusal of the Central Board of Film Certification to grant the Prakash Jha-produced film Lipstick Under My Burkha a certification, but those who know CBFC chairman Pahlaj Nihalani should not be surprised. Ever since he assumed office in January 2015, Nihalani has been extremely prurient in his attitude towards films, especially those dealing with sensitive topics. For instance, his asking for a record 89 cuts in Abhishek Choubey’s Udta Punjab — which dealt with the drug problem in Punjab — was a move that shocked many in the film fraternity. Nihalani’s obstinacy ensured the film’s producers had to approach the High Court to fight for its release. Jha may eventually have to follow this course if the CBFC sticks to its guns.

In the case of Lipstick Under My Burkha, Nihalani’s stance is worse because it is not just moralist or sexist, but quite frankly —idiotic. The objection about ‘contanious (sic) sexual scenes’ is ridiculous for a man who has passed uncut many films rich with sexual content like Rangoon and Befikre. Rangoon got a U/A certificate allowing even pre-teen children to watch sex scenes in this film, where as in other countries, such films are deemed fit only for adult and adolescent watching. This further highlights Nihalani’s hypocritical stand on sex scenes.

His other objection that the film is ‘lady-oriented’ is tragically funny in a gender-unequal country. Unfortunately, the CBFC’s ruling comes after the film received huge accolades abroad and even won an award for promoting gender equality. Either he is unaware of world opinion which suggests that he does not know his job well enough or that he is uncaring, which makes things even worse.

A CBFC chief who feels that he can act like god and dictate just how films will be shown is dangerous for us all. For a film should be seen as an art, highlighting issues and holding up mirrors to truths we may not want to address. If Nihalani decides these truths must be hidden or airbrushed to give the ‘right’ message, he is ensuring that Indians do not get to hear or debate such issues, but that we get accustomed to censorship as well. This then makes democratic India no different from countries which do not claim to be democracies, and thus their art is reduced to either ‘safe’ comedy or propaganda. Indian film-makers already live under a strong veil of censorship, much of which is left unsaid. For instance, critical biopics of any politician and indeed anyone powerful are out, ensuring that film-makers increasingly turn to sports stars and actors to play safe. Dhoni, Milkha Singh and an upcoming film on Sanjay Dutt are some cases in point.

It is not just politicians, even current events are largely off limits. Remember just how long Anurag Kashyap had to fight to get his movie Black Friday released? Even today, a realistic film on the Mumbai terror attack will face an almost impossible task passing the censors. So let us be under no illusion, even without Nihalani and his moral diatribes, we are already limited in the choices of films that will be made and passed. So we need to fight harder for the films that our film-makers dare to make. Because then, only then, will they dare to push the envelope further to explore subjects that are taboo. And we especially need to push for films like Lipstick Under My Burkha which talks not just about women, but burkha-clad Muslim women — a topic not really addressed in a meaningful manner so far, even in the West.

But Nihalani has shown no sign of giving up his paternalistic attitude. His apparent dislike of swear words — he recently attacked former Censor Board chief Sharmila Tagore for clearing Omkara for this reason — show his zeal for sheltering Indians from anything that could be even remotely upsetting. So to expect him to pass a film that deals with risqué selfies, marital rape and an older woman’s sexual needs, might be asking for a bit too much. It is time Nihalani listened to the High Court’s advice (when it passed Udta Punjab with just one cut) and stopped acting like a “grandmother.”