Former CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani has hailed the Supreme Court decision to lift the ban imposed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana on the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period film Padmaavat.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, also restrained all states from banning the Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor-starrer. “Creative freedom, freedom of speech and expression can’t be guillotined... artistic freedom has to be protected,” the SC said.
The CJI said that even Bandit Queen passed the test of the court. "In Delhi High Court, I had also given a judgment on 'Dhobi Ghat'. I dismissed the petition to ban the movie by imposing a cost of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner," he said.
Describing the Supreme Court's judgment as a “historical” decision for the film industry, Nihalani told News18.com, “It's completely wrong that some people are trying to ban the film even after it has got clearance from the CBFC. There's a Cinematography Act of 1952 which clearly says that if a film gets a certificate from the CBFC then it's the job of the state to take care of the law & order situation. And I think Supreme Court has given the judgment according to that.”
Nihalani further said the Supreme Court ruling is an eye-opener for all those organisations that held protests against the film and that “it’s the responsibility of the state government to provide full security for a safe release of the film.
"The way these states have supported one particular community for the sake of vote bank as the elections are coming show the double standards of this government. They have forgotten that central government bhi BJP chala rahi hai. They have purposely left the decision to Supreme Court because they thought SC was obviously going to favour the film so why should we take the risk in our name?(sic)"
Also starring Ranveer Singh, Padmaavat is scheduled to release on January 25 with paid previews on January 24. It will also be released in Tamil and Telugu and Hindi, as well as in 3D format.
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