Erotic thriller Julie 2, co-produced and distributed by former Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani, was passed without cuts and an ‘A’ certificate by the newly constituted certification board. The October 6 release has been directed by Deepak Shivadasani and stars Raaj Laxmi.
Nihalani was sacked and replaced by lyricist Prasoon Joshi as censor board head in August 2017.
While he helmed the CBFC, Nihalani had gained considerable notoriety for demanding arbitrary cuts and beeps from filmmakers. The trailer of Julie 2 indicates that it contains several of the kind of scenes that Nihalani would have once found objectionable. However, the former CBFC chief has reportedly asked the media not to judge the film based on its trailer.
“If I was still the CBFC chairperson, I’d have given Julie 2 an ‘Adults’ certificate with no cuts,” Nihalani told The Quint. “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.”
