Director’s Fuss About ‘A’ Certificate To Aligarh’s Trailer Is ‘Cheap Publicity Stunt’: Pahlaj Nihalani

Manoj Bajpai and Rajkummar Rao starrer upcoming film Aligarh, which is based on the real life story of a professor from Aligarh Muslim University who was suspended because of his homosexuality, has been granted ‘A’ certificate for its trailer by the Censor Board; and this apparently didn’t go well with the director of the flick, Hansal Mehta. The filmmaker says that the board wants to “put a stop to the promotions” of the film and also claimed that the board is “homophobic”. On the other side, censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani says that Mehta is purposely creating controversy and that it is a “cheap publicity stunt”.

In his clarification, Nihalani stated, “The certification we have given to the trailer is according to the content. If the makers feel it is not justified then let them take a public opinion on this... Tell me, is the subject of homosexuality for kids? For teenagers? We have already cleared the film and now they are creating a controversy. This is a cheap publicity stunt by him (Mehta)”.

He added, “The film (Aligarh) deals with homosexuality, we have given the trailer an A certificate and it will run with other adult films. We are not trying to sabotage the film at all. It is on the makers to accept it or not. If they want to go to the revising committee or tribunal they can go so by all means. In fact, we will be happy if they get the desired results from there”.

Source: indianexpress.com