IIFA 2017: CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani says award show has lost its dignity and relevance

It was earlier reported how there were multiple contenders for the top honours at IIFA Awards 2017 but they did not even make it to the nominations. Now, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani has echoed the same thought. [caption id=“attachment_3490329” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Pahlaj Nihalani[/caption] India Today reports that the reason why Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar were not nominated for their superlative performances in Nitesh Tiwari’s sports biopic Dangal and Tinu Suresh Desai’s period drama Rustom was because they refused to be a part of the IIFA extravaganza. Nihalani also lashes out at the extravagant indulgence of stars at the IIFA Awards, questioning the authorities who are sponsoring them. Hindustan Times quotes him as saying, “It is our foreign exchange being squandered as every top star is given tickets for his spouse, children, parents , ayahs, bodyguards, friends, friends of friends .…. I’ve heard stars are even given money to shop. Who is paying for all this? IIFA is selling Indian cinema to various countries and probably getting many financial benefits. But is the Indian government benefiting from this global event?” He even alleges that multiple stars did not make it to the main award show as they were too tired after partying all night. The same report quotes him as saying, “I think the day Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan opted out, IIFA lost its dignity and relevance. In 18 years, how much global impact has Indian cinema made and what hand did IIFA have in this?” He also points how the IIFA does not accurately represent Indian cinema globally. “Initially we had cinema from various states getting token representation at the awards.Now we only have Bollywood. So why do they call themselves the International Indian films awards? It’s such a sham! Bollywood is not Indian cinema,” he signs off.