EXCLUSIVE: The Pahlaj Nihalani story nobody is talking about – how he helped Ranbir Kapoor avoid a MASSIVE penalty during Jagga Jasoos’ release
Veteran producer and former chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Pahlaj Nihalani, passed away on June 4, 2026, due to a liver ailment. Sadly, a section of netizens has been only focusing on some of his controversial episodes as CBFC chairperson. However, there’s hardly any chatter about how Pahlaj Nihalani, during his tenure, went out of his way to help several filmmakers secure certificates on time. Had he not intervened in such cases, some of these films could have faced delays, thereby causing heavy losses to the makers.
Senior industry member Rajesh Vasani of Paras Publicity narrated one such touching episode related to Jagga Jasoos (2017), exclusively to Bollywood Hungama. The musical comedy starred Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, was directed by Anurag Basu and was produced by Ranbir Kapoor in association with Disney.
Rajesh Vasani said, “Mr Rishi Kapoor arrived at Pahlaj ji’s Juhu residence at midnight, on Monday, July 3, 2017 or Tuesday, July 4, 2017, around 11-12 days before the release of Jagga Jasoos. He informed Pahlaj ji that Ranbir needed to submit the film to Disney on an immediate basis. However, the mixing and other work on the film were still pending. He requested Pahlaj ji if the censor certificate could be issued, or else they would have to pay a heavy penalty for the delay, as per their agreement.”
Rajesh Vasani continued, “Pahlaj ji realized the seriousness of the situation and agreed to screen the film the next morning. He asked Chintu ji to apply online for the certificate. Chintu ji confessed that he wasn’t aware of the procedure. Pahlaj ji agreed to help him with that as well. He asked a CBFC staffer to do the needful and immediately assembled a team of five members to screen the film at the NFDC preview theatre in Worli.”
Rajesh Vasani further said, “The film was screened the next morning at 9:00 am. It was a rough cut. By 12 noon, the Examining Committee was done with the screening. It was a clean family film and there was no reason to impose any cuts. Accordingly, the EC reached the CBFC office at Pedder Road by 12:30 pm and submitted its report. The same day, by 4:00 pm, the censor certificate was ready and handed over to the makers. The next day, Ranbir and his team submitted the certificate to Disney and assured them that the final print would be handed over soon. The issuance of the certificate was a sign that the film was ready, and in that way, the actor saved himself from paying a heavy penalty.”
Rajesh Vasani also revealed, “That was the time when Pahlaj ji was planning to make Aankhen 2. I joked with him that since he had helped Ranbir in such a significant way, he should ask him to sign Aankhen 2. However, Pahlaj ji categorically told me that he would never do that. He stated that he didn’t do it (issue certificate quickly to Jagga Jasoos) so he could ask Ranbir and Chintu ji to return the favour. He did it because a fellow industry member needed help and because it was the right thing to do.”
City-wide tribute
Meanwhile, Rajesh Vasani has put up hoardings of Pahlaj Nihalani across the city of Mumbai, highlighting his professional and personal achievements. It’s probably the first time that such a homage has been given to a film personality.
The post EXCLUSIVE: The Pahlaj Nihalani story nobody is talking about – how he helped Ranbir Kapoor avoid a MASSIVE penalty during Jagga Jasoos’ release appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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