"Pahlaj ji has cleaned out the broker culture from Censor Board" - Sheetal Talwar

18 Feb 2015

Producer Sheetal Talwar, who claims he was harassed for a censor certificate for his film Mausam, says he is all for the new chairperson of the CBFC.

"Pahlaj ji has brought in transparency and he has weeded out corrupt elements from the censor board. He is unpopular within the censor board, because he has stopped the culture of brokerage in the industry," says Talwar, adding that the winds of change are already evident in the CBFC. "I went to the CBFC office the other day. I was stunned to see there were no brokers hanging around. Pahlajji has stopped the culture of middlemen in the censor board. For that alone, he deserves the full support from the film industry." Talwar says the queue-breakers are cribbing about the changes. "Producers, who paid money to get their films censored out of turn, are feeling the pinch. Pahlajji is strictly following the guidelines of dos and don'ts stipulated by the Ministry Of Information and Broadcasting for the censor board. No abuses, no violence against women....is that a bad thing? Only filmmakers who revel in cinema about sex and gaalis in the name of realism are likely to feel the pinch." Regarding the criticism that the new censor chief is a government loyalist, Sheetal Talwar laughs, "Why shouldn't the BJP recruit people loyal to their party? Weren't the earlier two censor chairpersons Congress loyalists? Instead of cribbing and carping about Pahlajji, the film industry should extend all support to ensure he brings full transparency in the CBFC. He is trying to do his job honestly. It's shocking that members of the censor board are opposing him."