CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani sues IIFA for projecting him 'inappropriately' during a stage act

Pahlaj Nihalani, chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, has been continually hitting the headlines. Usually, he is in the news for recommending unreasonable cuts to films, but it’s different this time. Nihalani has sent a legal notice to IIFA with regards to an act performed by Riteish Deshmukh and Maniesh Paul, wherein his picture was allegedly used in an appropriate manner, as per Deccan Chronicle. [caption id=“attachment_3336174” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pahalaj Nihalani. File Photo. News 18[/caption] The IIFA Rocks event was held in the New York City and hosted by Paul and Deshmukh. The two referred to Nihalani as a “watchman”, which has not gone down well with him. The legal notice demands IIFA to applogise on numerous platforms - both print and broadcast and a pledge to not project Nihalani in such a light. The notice has also been slapped on Wizcraft International, the organisers of the function. Says Nihalani, “The matter has gone legal now. So I’ll say only one thing. I know when to laugh and when to make others cry," Nihalani tells The Quint. He also stated that a similar kind of “defamatory” act was put up on the stage by Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor in 2016. Nihalani plans to go after all those who have been ridiculing him for a while now, according to the same report by The Quint. Earlier, Nihalani had slammed the award show for their extravagant ways . He criticised IIFA for not nominating the likes of Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar (though IIFA clarified that Khan did not file nominations). He also attacked film celebrities who went to the New York City at the IIFA’s expense but did not turn up for the main award show as they were “tired after partying all night.” Nihalani had added that IIFA lost its dignity and relevance a long ago, when Amitabh Bachchan severed his ties as the brand ambassador of the award show.