When former Central Board of Film Certification chief, Pahlaj Nihalani, decided to make a return to the film industry with erotic thriller, Julie 2, the irony wasn’t lost on anyone. Nihalani’s tenure as CBFC chief was marred by his ‘sanskaari’ outlook at filmmaking, which resulted in several films being cut, delayed and tampered with in some manner.
The film has been given an ‘A’ (Adults only) certificate with no cuts, by the new CBFC regime, lead by lyricist and writer, Prasoon Joshi.
Speaking with Subhash K Jha, reporting for the Quint, Nihalani said, “This is just what I had hoped for. If I was still the CBFC chairperson, I’d have given Julie 2 an ‘Adults’ certificate with no cuts. It is a clean Adults film for adult members of a family. Though it’s a film on an adult subject - the exploitation of strugglers and newcomers in Bollywood - the film has no nudity , no skin show , no double-meaning dialogues. Like I said it is a family film for adults and the CBFC has done the right thing.”
Indeed, this is what Nihalani had been saying all along. At a recent press conference Nihalani didn’t wait for anyone to ask him the obvious question, and launched into a defence of his decision to back the film. “You might all be wondering why I started off distribution with Julie 2 of all the films,” said Nihalani, the man who refused to grant a certificate to Lipstick Under My Burkha for being too ‘lady oriented’. “People might think how I can be back with such a film even after being a sanskari. You all are looking at the film from the point of view of an erotic film. But every film has its own framework and its own ideas. When I listened to the story of Julie 2 in its initial stages, I found it to be very interesting as it is an inside-the-industry story.”
{{/usCountry}}Indeed, this is what Nihalani had been saying all along. At a recent press conference Nihalani didn’t wait for anyone to ask him the obvious question, and launched into a defence of his decision to back the film. “You might all be wondering why I started off distribution with Julie 2 of all the films,” said Nihalani, the man who refused to grant a certificate to Lipstick Under My Burkha for being too ‘lady oriented’. “People might think how I can be back with such a film even after being a sanskari. You all are looking at the film from the point of view of an erotic film. But every film has its own framework and its own ideas. When I listened to the story of Julie 2 in its initial stages, I found it to be very interesting as it is an inside-the-industry story.”
{{/usCountry}}But Julie 2 - itself a sequel to a controversial 2004 film starring Neha Dhupia - has never been shy. From the first poster - which featured star Raai Laxmi laying topless on a beach, and Nihalani’s name plastered in big letters - to the first trailer - which opened with Nihalani’s name plastered in big letters and ended with Raai Laxmi’s Julie disrobing before a sleazy producer - there was never any doubt about the film’s intended audience.
When asked about peddling soft porn to audiences, Nihalani shot back: “Soft porn or soft corn, or harsh reality. Let the film release. The world will know.”
Remember, Nihalani refused to let the word ‘intercourse’ pass in Shah Rukh Khan’s Jab Harry Met Sejal.
Julie 2 is slated for an October 6 release.
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