Pahlaj Nihalani sacked Prasoon Joshi to replace him

The Centre has removed Pehlaj Nihalani from the post of the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Noted lyricist and screenplay writer Prasoon Joshi was appointed as the new CBFC chief by the Government to replace Nihalani in a surprise move on Friday.

The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry also reconstituted the film censor board by inducting several new members including popular Bollywood actress Vidya Balan.

Kannada film director TS Nagabharana, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, author Narendra Kohli, popular actresses Gautami Tadimalla and Jeevitha Rajasekhar are other new members of the reconstituted CBFC.

This comes days after Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani was given additional charge of the I&B Ministry with M Venkaiah Naidu vacating the Cabinet berth for the post of Vice President."

46-year old Joshi, who was conferred Padma Shri by the Government in 2015 for his contributions towards the field of arts, literature and advertising, will remain at the helm of affairs at the CBFC as its chairman for a period of three years.

“The Central Government is pleased to appoint Prasoon Joshi as Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification in an honorary capacity from 11th August, 2017 for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the I&B Ministry notified.

The 23-member Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which is commonly referred to as the censor board, has been mired in controversy ever since the Nihalani took over as its chief in January 2015. Several filmmakers have complained of arbitrary objections and cuts sought by the board in the recent past.

Last year in January, the I&B Ministry constituted a committee under eminent film-maker Shyam Benegal for suggestions on restructuring of the CBFC after Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened to end the controversies over certification of films.

Benegal submitted his committee's report along with recommendations to the I&B Ministry last year. However, the government is yet to take a stand on his report as it is is still under consideration of the I&B Ministry.

Nihalani. who has often been accused of indulging in moral policing while considering applications for clearance of films, was recently in the news when he insisted that the word 'intercourse' be beeped from the trailer of Shahrukh Khan-starrer 'Jab Harry Met Sejal'.

Earlier, he drew fire from the film fraternity after the CBFC refuse to clear films 'Ka Bodyscapes' and 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' which won international acclaim. 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' got clearance with 'A' certificate only after the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) reversed the CBFC order.