Here's why Modi govt may slap down Pahlaj Nihalani's Swachh Bollywood campaign

One has to applaud the new Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani’s enthusiasm to sanitise Indian cinema. If his whims were made into rules, perhaps Bollywood would have to step aside and make way for only Chhota Bheem to play in theatres. His ideas of what is vulgar and what constitutes cinema’s responsibility to society, if translated into reality, will make Indian cinema nothing more than a snazzier version of the Sanskar channel. However, the government seems to have taken notice of the fact that Nihalani’s swachh cinema campaign seems to have pressed all the panic buttons in the country leading to speculations about an autocratic government, no less. The Times of India reports that Nihalani’s ‘superhero’ Modi and his government will now try to rein in the censor board chief so that he doesn’t end up leaving the government red-faced. While ideally the centre shouldn’t be liable for the activities of the Central Board of Film Certification, the fact that it is literally choked with  self-confessed Modi fans and BJP supporters , has the potential to make the government look bad. In January this year former CBFC chief Leela Samson and her entourage stepped down to make way for the new censor board. [caption id=“attachment_2105275” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pahlaj Nihalani. Image courtrsy: Facebook[/caption] TOI reports: " On Tuesday, the controversy reached the doorstep of the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry with a meeting between eminent filmmakers and junior minister Rajyavardhan Rathore slated for February 25. Gangs of Wasseypur’ director Anurag Kashyap, whose film ‘Bombay Velvet’ is due for release soon, and Union minister Babul Supriyo met Rathore on Tuesday and discussed the ban on cuss words issued by Nihalani." You might think that other than for Kashyap, that panel doesn’t sound entirely convincing. However, TOI quotes Supriyo as saying, “Maybe, some people are speaking out of turn and are not really in tune with the film industry’s needs.” Kahsyap too expressed satisfaction at the proceedings of the meeting. However, there could be another reason why the government has decided to intervene into the functioning of the CBFC. Faced with stinging criticism after he released a list of words that the board would take exception to in a film, Nihalani chose to shift the blame on the information and broadcasting ministry. In fact, he said that anyone who had a problem with the list of banned words should approach the I&B ministry instead of heckling him, since he was just following guidelines from higher authorities. “I am just following the guidelines. I am not bringing anything on my own. If the industry people have a problem, they should go to the ministry and get their approval. I will follow it,” he said. However, it is his zeal to ‘follow’ these orders that has sent ripples not only across the film industry but the entire country itself. Recently, The Indian Express reported that he went after Sharmila Tagore accusing her of practicing nepotism and giving a nod to a film like Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara which had more than a fair smattering of cuss words in it.  He said that Tagore felt compelled to pass the film without too many cuts because her son Saif Ali Khan starred in the film. In a country, whose masses engage with politics just sparingly, gags on culture will always set off the first alarm bells about how a political establishment is functioning. Also, in India, when you try to sink your claws into Bollywood, the shivers are felt across the country. For example, when Hindutva groups harassed Tamil writer Perumal Murugan and the government maintained  a steely silence over the issue, there was a just a low growl of protest on social media which also died quickly. However, when religious groups tried thrashing the All India Bakchod and the Bollywood celebrities associated with the event and the Maharashtra government backed these voices, howls against autocracy rung across social media not only in India, but out of it. In fact, criticism of the state’s stance on AIB hasn’t died down yet and the now infamous roast continues to dominate conversations in India. A majority of those conversations are also sharply critical of the government’s silence on these forces running amok in the country. Nihalani, for the Centre, has perhaps turned into a liability because he seems to be propagating and imposing orthodox right-wing philosophies of culture at the cost of the Modi government’s image. Also, Nihalani is a sort of a soft target. By shutting him down and making a show of commitment towards the freedom of speech and India’s plurality, the government can take attention off its silence on the antics of the likes of Hindu Mahasabha or the rebellion of the RSS. Smacking Nihalani down over Bollywood would make the government seem like champions of a liberal, rational culture to the masses without them having to immediately spar with heavier supporter-turned-adversaries like the RSS. Nihalani will perhaps have to slam the brakes on his ambitious Swachh Bollywood campaign. He owes his ‘superhero’ this much. Editor’s note: The sentence quoting Rajyavardhan Rathore on women journalists has been removed from the copy since India Today released an apology clarifying that the misquoted Rathore.