This Article is From Nov 26, 2015

'Modi Kaka' Video Makes Centre Rethink Censor Board Chief Pahlaj Nihalani's Tenure: Sources

'Modi Kaka' Video Makes Centre Rethink Censor Board Chief Pahlaj Nihalani's Tenure: Sources

Pahlaj Nihalani's Modi Kaka video had raised the hackles of a section of the civil society, which ridiculed the borrowing of foreign visuals to illustrate how India is great.

Mumbai: The seven-minute "Modi Kaka" video -- a glowing tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- has put a question mark on Pahlaj Nihalani's continuation as the chairman of the censor board, government sources told NDTV.

It now appears that Mr Nihalani had made the documentary without clearance from the Information and Broadcasting ministry.  "It is expected that if something is being prepared on the Prime Minister, the government should have been informed," an official said.

There is a process which has to be followed, he said, adding, "We will reassess the whole issue including whether the chairman needs to be replaced."

The controversial video had raised the hackles of a section of the civil society, which had ridiculed the borrowing of foreign visuals to illustrate how India is great.

 

In the Modi Kaka video, visuals of Tour De France, International Space Shuttle, Moscow's International Business Centre and the Dubai Expressway are shown as glimpses of PM Modi's India.


Mr Nihalani had also been ridiculed on social media over what was called the "Sanskari James Bond" episode after prominent cuts were made to the kissing scenes in the James Bond movie Spectre. The board had contended that the kissing scenes were "too long" in the film that was released in India last week.

Mr Nihalani had banned films like Fifty Shades of Grey, and the Battle for Benaras, which tried to capture the contest between PM Modi and Arvind Kejriwal in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Benaras.

And as Mr Nihalani drew up a list of four-letter words and even words like "Bombay" or "lesbian", proposing to ban them, the film fraternity accused him of being dictatorial. Following a chorus of protests, the controversial list was finally withdrawn.

"We have been getting many complaints against the chief and a few members," a source said.

Mr Nihalani's appointment had drawn fire from a section of Bollywood and the students of Pune film institute, given that he called himself a BJP man and is an unabashed admirer of PM Modi.

His tenure in the film board had been fraught with rebellion within ranks and criticism. In March, junior broadcasting minister Rajyavardhan Rathore had to go to Mumbai and mediate between the board and a Bollywood delegation that included actors like Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone.
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