Punjabi Cultural Heritage Board leader meets Censor chief over ‘Singh Is Bliing’

Mumbai: On Thursday afternoon members of the Punjabi Cultural Heritage met Pahlaj Nihalani, the chairperson of the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) expressing displeasure and anger over the content of teasers songs and trailers of the forthcoming comedy ‘Singh Is Bliing’.

When contacted Nihalani described these protests as a routine nuisance.

“I explained to the members of the Punjabi Cultural Heritage Board that the trailers and teasers were not necessarily an indication of the actual content of the feature film, that we are here to ensure that no religious sentiments are hurt. We’ve very strict guidelines about this.”

Pahlaj ji is unimpressed by the cultural censorship of films. “It is not right for religious organizations to jump in without knowing the content of the film. With films that have Sardarji heroes we’ve seen Sikh organizations getting offended before the release of the film. It happened with ‘Rocket Singh - Salesman Of The Year’, ‘Singh Is King’ and now ‘Singh Is Bliing.”

The censor chief advises the moral police to hold their horses until the film’s release. “Like I said the censor board follows very strict guidelines regarding religious and community matters. In the past we’ve seen organizations jumping the gun with ‘Dharam Sankat’, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, ‘Phantom’ and other films. Now the target is ‘Singh Is Bliing’. Let the film be released. The protestors should raise objections after they see the film.”

At the same time Nihalani ji warns filmmakers against being casual flippant and irreverent regarding religious matters. “Earlier words like Khuda, Ibaadat were used for the beloved in songs. Now we see them being liberally and careless used in dance numbers with semi-clad women prancing in the background. Recently we had this very dangerous situation of an uncensored film vilifying Varanasi being uploaded. These are dangerous trends. Curbs and checks are needed from both ends.”