Former chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Pahlaj Nihalani, moved the Vacation Bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday against 20 cuts suggested by the board in his movie, Rangeela Raja .
The movie is produced by Mr. Nihalani and is slated to be released on November 16. Through his advocate Ashok Saraogi, Mr. Nihalani filed a petition stating, “As per the norms and rules and regulations framed by CBFC, the body is required to see the screening within 21 days from the date of submission but instead of screening the film within the period, the officers of CBFC have taken as many as 40 days for the screening, which has been done with malafide intentions.”
As per the CBFC system, after the screening, if any portion is found objectionable, the producer is given opportunities to put his case forward and justify the scene or the dialogue. However, Mr. Nihalani said in this case, no such opportunity was made available to him. Neither has any “double-meaning dialogue” been used nor does it contain vulgar scenes, he said.
On November 2, CBFC suggested a Universal Adult certificate with certain cuts in the film. “Even if prima facie, the said cuts and/or the dialogues are taken into consideration, the same do not show any vulgarity,” Mr. Nihalani said, adding he was being harassed.
Mr. Nihalani sought to quash the CBFC order as also either the Universal or Universal with Adult certification for the film. He also urged the HC to appoint a committee to watch the film and place its suggestions before the court.
The matter is likely to come up for hearing in the High Court on Tuesday.
