Raai Laxmi in Julie 2. (Image courtesy: julie2film)
New Delhi:
Days after Pahlaj Nihalani's term ended as the chief of Central Board of Film Certification, the filmmaker announced that he will present Julie 2, starring south Indian actress Raai Laxmi. Twitter exploded with memes and comments about Mr Nihalani presenting a film that he would have probably heavily censored if it came for review to him - of course, because of the bold content. But the face-off between the former Censor Board chief and the film body (now headed by Prasoon Joshi) is over and Mr Nihalani told NDTV: "This is just what I had hoped for. If I was still the CBFC chairperson I'd have given Julie 2 an 'A' certificate with no cuts. It is a clean adult film for adult members of a family."
"Though it's a film on an adult subject-the exploitation of strugglers and newcomers in Bollywood-the film has no nudity, no skin show, and no double-meaning dialogues. Like I said it is a family film for adults and the CBFC has done the right thing," he added.
Earlier this month it was reported that Pahlaj Nihalani would distribute the Deepak Shivdasani-directed film and Twitter was floored by the irony. "Hahahaha. Hypocrisy, because why not?," read one tweet. But Mr Nihalani was unfazed by the Twitter fury and told news agency IANS: "I am no more on the CBFC... My business is movie, movie and movie. Now I am the distributor of this movie... It's a bold, beautiful and blessed movie. I am doing the marketing and distributing, which is my original business."
Pahlaj Nihalani's term as the CBFC chief was marred by several controversies like chopping the duration several intimate scenes and sometimes even kissing scenes (remember SPECTRE?) One of his last extremely controversial edit suggestions was the use of the term 'intercourse' in Shah Rukh Khan's Jab Harry Met Sejal. Mr Nihalani's defense: "That was U/A (unrestricted public exhibition, subject to parental guidance for children below the age of twelve). This is adult," reports IANS.
Julie 2 is Deepak Shivdasani's second film in the series. The first film released in 2004 and featured Neha Dhupia in the lead role. Julie 2 will release later this year.
(With inputs from IANS)
"Though it's a film on an adult subject-the exploitation of strugglers and newcomers in Bollywood-the film has no nudity, no skin show, and no double-meaning dialogues. Like I said it is a family film for adults and the CBFC has done the right thing," he added.
Earlier this month it was reported that Pahlaj Nihalani would distribute the Deepak Shivdasani-directed film and Twitter was floored by the irony. "Hahahaha. Hypocrisy, because why not?," read one tweet. But Mr Nihalani was unfazed by the Twitter fury and told news agency IANS: "I am no more on the CBFC... My business is movie, movie and movie. Now I am the distributor of this movie... It's a bold, beautiful and blessed movie. I am doing the marketing and distributing, which is my original business."
Pahlaj Nihalani's term as the CBFC chief was marred by several controversies like chopping the duration several intimate scenes and sometimes even kissing scenes (remember SPECTRE?) One of his last extremely controversial edit suggestions was the use of the term 'intercourse' in Shah Rukh Khan's Jab Harry Met Sejal. Mr Nihalani's defense: "That was U/A (unrestricted public exhibition, subject to parental guidance for children below the age of twelve). This is adult," reports IANS.
Julie 2 is Deepak Shivdasani's second film in the series. The first film released in 2004 and featured Neha Dhupia in the lead role. Julie 2 will release later this year.
(With inputs from IANS)
