Rumours regarding Prasoon Joshi’s imminent dismissal as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) are doing the rounds of parliament. However, informed sources say that these rumours are malicious and baseless.
In his seven months of heading the board, Joshi has endeared himself to colleagues as well as the Prime Minister. So much so that he was asked to coordinate an interactive session held by Mr Modi in London this April. The screenwriter regaled the audience with his flair for rhetoric.
A well-informed source from the BJP says, “Prasoon was appointed as the chairperson of the CBFC directly by the PM’s office. It wasn’t former I&B Minister Smriti Irani who invited him to take over from Pahlaj Nihalani; Prasoon was the PM’s choice. His handling of censorship-related issues, especially the Padmaavat controversy, and the coordination skills displayed by him at the PM’s interactive session have further strengthened his position.”
Sources in the know say the new I&B Minister, Mr Rajyavardhan Rathore, has been advised to work closely with Joshi to come up with solutions to the problems plaguing the entertainment industry. “The first item on their agenda is the development of a paperwork-free system of censoring films. Monitoring of the muck on digital platforms also needs to be tackled,” the source says.
