Kalki Koechlin: Wrong to blame only Pahlaj Nihalani for all Censor Board decisions

Actor Kalki Koechlin believes that the board, as a whole, was responsible for the controversies during Nihalani’s tenure. She also hopes that new chairperson Prasoon Joshi can change its functioning.

The majority of Bollywood is happy with adman-lyricist Prasoon Joshi replacing the controversial Pahlaj Nihalani as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), informally called the Censor Board. But actor Kalki Koechlin believes that it’s wrong to accuse Nihalani alone for the myopic view of the board, as has been evident over the past few years.

Actor Kalki Koechlin will next be seen in Jia aur Jia alongside actor Richa Chadha.

“I think it’s a very negative attitude to put all the blame on him,” says Kalki. “I think it’s a combination of people that make up the board, and, if anything, they were equally responsible for whatever happened when [Nihalani] was the chairperson. To hold someone responsible for all that was wrong with the board is a wrong practice in itself,” adds the actor, who will soon be seen in the film Jia aur Jia, co-starring Richa Chadha.

Pahlaj Nihalani was the chairperson of the CBFC from January 19, 2015, to August 10, 2017.

Kalki, however, does hope that Prasoon brings about a change in the way the Censor Board functions. “It’s good that they have chosen someone who is from the film fraternity. I know Prasoon personally. I’ve worked with him in Margarita with a Straw (2014), and I know he is a wonderful human being. It’s great that somebody like a Prasoon Joshi is the chairperson of the Censor Board,” she says. Prasoon was appointed the CBFC chairperson with effect from August 11, 2017.

Like many others among her Bollywood colleagues, Kalki, 33, wants the CBFC to issue a certificate, instead of censoring or banning films. “I hope,” she says, “that people realise that the board’s function is not to censor or ask for cuts. It’s to issue a certificate on the basis of the content in the film. It’s a film certification board, and they’re not supposed to censor any films.”

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