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Banning Not Enough, Tanmay Should Be Arrested, Says Censor Board Chief Pahlaj Nihalani

Banning Not Enough, Tanmay Should Be Arrested, Says Censor Board Chief Pahlaj Nihalani
Indian Bollywood film producer Pahlaj Nihalani attends an event to honour politician and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha, who was conferred the Officer of the Legion of Honour in New Delhi earlier in the week, in Mumbai late on June 23, 2015. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
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Indian Bollywood film producer Pahlaj Nihalani attends an event to honour politician and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha, who was conferred the Officer of the Legion of Honour in New Delhi earlier in the week, in Mumbai late on June 23, 2015. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Comedian Tanmay Bhat's Snapchat video, where he's seen mimicking Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar, has stirred up an unforeseeable controversy.

After Anupam Kher, Riteish Deshmukh, and Madhur Bhandarkar expressed 'disgust' over the clip, it was Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani's turn to weigh in on the 'issue.'

Nihalani, a dedicated defender of public morality, told NDTV that Bhat was a repeat offender, who deserves to be arrested for his actions.

"Tanmay Bhat is a repeat offender, he deserves no freedom. He has insulted the mother of music," he said.

He also told Deccan Chronicle, "Banning this character (Tanmay Bhat) in Maharashatra is not enough. Lataji and Sachin Tendulkar don’t belong to Maharashtra only, they are a part of every Indian’s life. This fellow has insulted every Indian. He should be arrested immediately without any further delay and dealt with severely. Doing this two institutions who have devoted their lives to doing our country proud…shame!”

The video has drawn a slew of criticism and opinion on social media is divided over its acceptability. Other than people related to the film industry, political parties like the MNS have also reacted dramatically to the event. Police complaints against Bhat have been filed by both, the BJP and the MNS while the Mumbai police has also reached out to tech giants Facebook and YouTube to get Bhat's video blocked.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.