'Apart from Satya -- which was a very good film -- Manoj Bajpayee has not featured in any hit in the 10-12 years of his career. Who is he to talk about my career? He should worry about his own.'
CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani lashes out.
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani has been in the eye of a storm for a while now.
Directors like Anurag Kashyap have openly complained against him, even though he has found support in BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha.
The latest to critise Nihalani is Manoj Bajpayee, who feels the Censor Board chief should retire.
Nihalani lashes out at his detractors, in this interview with Subhash K Jha.
Manoj Bajpayee thinks you are a spent force, that you should retire and that your days as the CBFC chairperson are numbered.
Really? Bajpayee saab feels so strongly about me? He is such a busy actor, and he still has time to study my career graph? I am deeply moved.
But if I am a spent force and need to retire, it means I have been working all these years -- nearly 45 years as a producer and filmmaker. I am still waiting for Manoj Bajpayee's career to start.
What do you mean? He has done so many acclaimed films.
Acclaimed, yes. But by whom? The film industry?
There’s a group of filmmakers in Mumbai comprising self-styled geniuses like Hansal Mehta, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Anurag Kashyap, who make films that are praised to the skies by their colleagues and a handful of learned critics. However, the theatres showing their films open empty and close empty. Are you aware of how much money Anurag Kashyap has lost to his producers?
How much?
Close to Rs 300 crore has been lost through his flop movies like Ugly, Bombay Velvet and Raman Raghav. And he still continues to make films!
Why did you say Manoj Bajpayee's career has not even started?
Apart from Satya -- which was a very good film -- Manoj has not featured in any hit in the 10-12 years of his career. Who is he to talk about my career? He should worry about his own.
Manoj is talking about the CBFC to promote his new film. This is his desperate method of getting media space.
Manoj also says the CBFC has always been a problem for the movies.
What problems has the CBFC created for the great Manoj Bajpayee?
His last release Aligarh got a clearance out of turn because his director and supporters pushed the film as a masterpiece.
We realise it’s a mistake to treat films differently on the basis of the film industry’s perception or the filmmaker’s track record. If we allow guidelines to be flouted by Aligarh or Udta Punjab, we have to do the same for Mastizaade and Great Grand Masti.
How did the CBFC pass the bold Great Grand Masti?
We did not. The CBFC refused certification to this film. We found the content vulgar, so they took the film to the tribunal, which restored all the cuts and asked them to make voluntary cuts. The producers made a few token cuts and got the film cleared.
The power to decide now lies with the tribunal and the honourable courts. The CBFC is reduced to a state of redundancy.
A lot of your detractors think your tenure as CBFC chief is over?
I am here as long as the government wants me. The day they ask me to step down, I will do so happily.
