Pahlaj Nihalani: Alankrita Shrivastava is a liar

The ongoing struggle between Central Board of Film Certification Chief Pahlaj Nihalani and Alankrita Shrivastava over the certification of Alankrita's 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' seems to have gone murkier.

In a recent exclusive chat with MissKyra, Alankrita had revealed, "I just feel that there should be no censorship in a free and democratic country. We applied for the censor certificate at the end of December, and I finally got a certificate at the end of June this year. I don't think it should take half a year to get a censor certificate. It makes you feel that gender equality and women's freedom of expression is not something that you can take for granted in our country."

Talking about Alankrita's claims, Nihalani told that the filmmaker is only using CBFC's rejection for publicity. Nihalani said, "She is a liar. I was never aloof, rude or uppity with her… I very clearly remember asking her to sit. She didn’t respond. I told her that her film was rejected by the Examining Committee. She said she knew that would happen. It was a civil, to-the-point conversation. How did it make her feel like a criminal? I fail to see why she continues to flog the CBFC and me to get her film noticed, rather than have people talk about it for its intrinsic merit. Does the film have anything else to recommend itself other than the fact that it was questioned by the Censor Board?"

However, talking to the leading daily, Alankrita put forth her point and added, "I went to the screening theatre and there was the revising committee, who took the unanimous decision. It’s not about whether they offered me a seat or not; the place is such that there’s no space for dialogue. So I felt that as a filmmaker, I was subjected to an unpleasant atmosphere.

Starring Konkana Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah and Ahana Kumra, Alankrita Sharma's 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' releases on July 21.

CREDITS: HINDUSTAN TIMES