Sanskaari attitude vanishes!

In less than a month after Pahlaj Nihalani was sacked as India’s film censor board chief, he has come on board to market and distribute erotic thriller Julie 2. As its titillating trailer was launched here on Monday, he defended it as an “adult family entertainer” which reveals the reality of the film industry, even as the Twitterati laughed away at the irony of the ‘sanskaari citizen’.

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But as Nihalani puts it, “If you cannot digest the film, I will give you a digestive tablet.” Nihalani was ousted as the chief of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over his controversial diktats of suggesting cuts and beeps film after film, just last month. He was replaced by writer and ad man Prasoon Joshi.

At the trailer launch of Julie 2, a sequel to the 2004 film Julie, Nihalani had to field some tough questions from the media, given how the rushes feature lead actress Raai Laxmi stripping away.

Considering that the film tells the journey of a lady who is exploited by the film industry, and is quite lady-oriented in its theme, asked what rating is he expecting from the CBFC and how many cuts, Nihalani said: “I know where the question is coming from... There is no burkha in the film, and people will be able to relate to the story of the film. “You haven’t watched the film, so watch it to judge it. Don’t judge a book by its cover.” His comment was a dig at Lipstick Under My Burkha, which he had refused to certify as he deemed it too “lady-oriented”. — IANS