NEW DELHI -- Filmmaker Prakash Jha's upcoming Jai Gangaajal, which was stuck at the censor board, yesterday got a clearance from the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), which asked for two minor changes in the film.
Censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani had earlier demanded 11 cuts in the Priyanka Chopra-starrer action drama and had threatened Jha to give the film an 'A' certificate if necessary changes were not made.
Jha said the tribunal yesterday watched the movie and called it "powerful" and so decided not to disrupt it with unnecessary alterations.
Ever so grateful to the (Tribunal)FCAT for appreciating and clearing #JaiGangaajal with just one minor cut and alteration of one dialogue!
— Prakash Jha (@prakashjha27) January 23, 2016
"There are just two cuts now but they are very minor. They asked me to just tone down little bit. He (Nihalani) had asked for 11 cuts. Now, we have been allowed everything including the language. There are no objections," Jha told PTI.
"The tribunal appreciated the film and called it a very powerful movie. They said they don't want to disrupt it."
Jai Gangaajal is a sequel to Jha's 2003 hit Gangaajal, which starred Ajay Devgn.
The 63-year-old director had first gone to the examining committee but the members there had a difference of opinion.
He then approached the revising committee, which was presided by Nihalani himself.
"I felt so humiliated at the revising committee where he himself was the chairperson. And I had to tell him to stop shouting. His behaviour is bad and so is his thinking. The way he treats producers is humiliating."
Jha, who is known for his films like Apaharan (2005), Raajneeti (2010), Aarakshan (2011) and Satyagraha (2013), said the methods in which Nihalani works are highly "questionable" and he should know that his behaviour will not be tolerated.
"The censor board is not a menace, it is all Nihalani's personal agenda. He does not understand. His own manipulations and methods are questionable. I hope he gets the signal that these things will not be tolerated," Jha said.
Jai Gangaajal will release on 4 March.
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