Pahlaj Nihalani removed as CBFC chief; Prasoon Joshi appointed new chairperson

Pahlaj Nihalani has been removed as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, with adman, poet and writer Prasoon Joshi being appointed as the new chief.

The development was reported by Mirror Now, which said:

#BREAKING: #SanskariNihalani Pahlaj Nihalani sacked as Censor Chief. @prasoonjoshi_ to take over as the new Censor Chief.

— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) August 11, 2017

More details are awaited at present, concerning Joshi’s appointment. However, there has been speculation for a while now concerning the end of Nihalani’s tenure. Officially, his three-year term was due to be completed in January 2018. Filmmakers like Prakash Jha and Madhur Bhandarkar, as well as producer Chandraprakash Dwivedi, were rumoured to be considered for the CBFC chief’s post.

Meanwhile, veteran actor Raza Murad told Mirror Now, “Whatever has been done will be welcomed by the industry. Mr Joshi should take the lead from Nihalani (sic). Producers were feeling suffocated by the high-handedness of the chief. Mr Joshi will be much easier to approach.” Filmmaker Sajid Khan was quoted by the channel as saying, “His diktats were too heavy… to cut out insignificant things from scenes, and make ordinary films look like adult films.” Actress Vidya Balan will also reportedly be a member of the CBFC, while other names like Waman Kendre, Vivek Agnihotri and Narendra Kohli have also been put forward by News18 . 

A source in the Information and Broadcasting ministry said Nihalani was asked to go a few months before his tenure ended because of the frequent complaints against him, the same News 18 report stated.