We Will Give An A Rating To Akshay Kumar Film If The Need Be: Pahlaj Nihalani

“We Will Give An  A Rating To Akshay Kumar Film If The Need Be,”  Pahlaj Nihalani Lashes Out Makers Of Menstruation Film For Accusing CBFC Of Bias, Says They Put Pressure From Political Heavyweights

Pahlaj Nihalani is very upset with new director Abhishek Saxena whose film Phullu on the  menstruation  cycle and personal  hygiene are on release this Friday.

Saxena has lashed out at the CBFC accusing it of bias against smaller filmmakers. But in a surprising  rebuttal Nihalani says the producers of Phullu tried to put pressure on the CBFC through political bigwigs.

“So I really don’t know what this chap is acting holier than-than-thou about. We were pressurized to give  the film a lenient view from bigwigs  in the Shiv Sena and the BJP. I won’t name them on record.They tried everything.And now they want to get sympathy  by playing the underdog? And who are they to question us on what we do with other films? We found their film deserved an ‘Adult’ certificate  That’s it. No amount of pressure will change that,” says  Nihalani.

In  an interview to the Quint  Phullu director  Abhishek Saxena had said , “I’m sure that the CBFC will not give Akshay Kumar’s film Padman an Adult rating. Because he’s Akshay Kumar and whatever he shows is good and worthy of being seen as a ‘public interest’ message. If he gets an ‘A’ he’ll get Modi ji to tweet about it and the CBFC will fall in line. But I’m sure he’ll get a U/A rating, so it won’t even come to that. When Padman releases, I’m sure that the CBFC will pitch it as an ‘education’ film, even though our film is just as much about menstruation and the taboo around it, as theirs.”

Nihlani finds the self righteous tone of wounded injury in the director’s voice to be ironical. “The producers of Phullu are behaving like martyrs and saints while the CBFC is the proverbial villain  of  the piece. This director talks of Akshay Kumar’s film on sanitary napkins getting a lenient certification from us when these people tried to pressurize us with calls from big political names from the Shiv Sena and the  BJP. As  for being partial toAkshay Kumar’s Padman, let the film come to us, we’ll give it the certification is deserves. If it deserves an ‘Adults’ so it shall be.We are nor partial to any individual no matter what the pressure.”