Pahalaj Nihalani sacked; Prasoon Joshi the new CBFC chief

New Delhi [India], August 11 (ANI): Pahalaj Nihalani, who has been under the radar for the recent cuts and censorship in movies, has been dethroned as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief. Famous lyricist Prasoon Joshi will take charge for the next three years. "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (37 of 1952) read with rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983, the Central Government is pleased to appoint Sh. Prasoon Joshi as Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification in an honorary capacity from 11th August, 2017 for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier," said an Information and Broadcasting Ministry statement. Nihalani, who took the office of the chairperson of CBFC on January 19, 2015, gained infamous reputation scissoring movies like 'Lipstick Under My Burkha,' 'Jab Harry Met Sejal,' 'Babumoshai Bandukbaaz,' 'Udta Punjab' and more, in the recent past. On the other hand, writer-poet and advertising entrepreneur Prasoon Joshi is a well known name in the industry. He was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2015, for his contributions towards the field of Arts, Literature and Advertising Joshi has received the 'Filmfare Best Lyricist Award' three times, in 2007 and 2008 and again in 2014 for the Hindi movie 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. He has also received the National Film Award for 'Best Lyrics' twice, for his work in 'Taare Zameen Par' (2007), and 'Chittagong' (2013). (ANI)