Pahlaj Nihalani sacked; lyricist Prasoon Joshi to replace him as CBFC chief

Film producer Pahlaj Nihalani has been sacked as the Director of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) of India. Nihalani was appointed as the chairperson of the CBFC on January 19, 2015.

Lyricist Prasoon Joshi has been appointed as the new director of the CBFC.

Speculation was rife that the CBFC, which falls under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, would show Nihalani the doors. During his tenure, Nihalani faced severe backlash for his 'sanskari' stance.

Nihalani had established stringent guidelines to do away with the use of slangs, explicit sex scenes and violence against women. He was seen as a "dictator" in the film industry.

The most recent film, which had to bear the brunt of the sacked CBFC director was 'Lipstick Under My Burkha', which was denied certification for being "explicit", "abusive" material and "too lady oriented." The ban was lifted after the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) overruled censor board's decision to can the movie.

Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma-starrer 'Jab Harry Met Sejal' also came under his radar when he lashed out at the makers for using the word "intercourse" in the film. After film fraternity criticised his decision, he told a TV channel: "You take voting from the public and I will clear the word (intercourse) on the promo and the film also. I want 1 lakh votes and I want to see that India has changed and Indian families want their 12-year-old kids to understand the meaning of this word (intercourse)."

Nihalani had recently sent a five-page legal notice to the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) over a skit in which the CBFC chairperson was referred to as a 'watchman'. The skit was performed by Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh and popular anchor Manish Paul.