Latest news with #Pahlaj
Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Ekta Kapoor ruined Indian culture with her TV shows,' says Pahlaj Nihalani: ‘Erotic films were rare, now sex is everywhere'
25 years ago, Ekta Kapoor launched her first batch of K-serials, and soon enough, the popularity of shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, skyrocketed. Her saas-bahu serials became culture-defining over the next decade, so much so that they continue to influence the Indian television space. While the folks associated with these shows made massive profits from them, others saw them as regressive. Recently, producer Pahlaj Nihalani blamed Ekta Kapoor for ruining that idea of Indian culture. In a chat shared on Learn From The Legend's YouTube channel, Pahlaj said the Bollywood is 'not making Hindi pictures for the masses anymore.' He said, 'Shah Rukh Khan, who was known for romancing in films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, even he is holding a gun. That is working now.' He then continued to say that films like RRR and Kalki 2898 AD are inspired by Mahabharat and Ramayana, and implied that films presenting ancient Indian mythological texts were working for the masses. He said, 'Films like RRR, they are fully based on Ramayana and Mahabharat, even in Kalki, the end was all about Mahabharat. People are taken in by Indian culture but we are force-feeding people that one woman can get married to three men…' Pahlaj then proceeded to blame Ekta Kapoor for portraying the practice of polygamy in many of her shows, but insisted that it was only the women who were shown to be getting married multiple times. 'Ekta Kapoor, the great… I mean men are not allowed to get married twice but she gets women married three times… Our culture has been ruined,' he said and added, 'Earlier, erotic movies were made rarely, now there's sex everywhere.' ALSO READ | KBC turns 25: Writer who gave Amitabh Bachchan lines like 'lock kiya jaye' says actor 'very charged up' about Season 17 In the same chat, Pahlaj also mentioned that until the early 2000s, none of the actors interfered with the casting process of the film but the first actor who put a condition with regard to this was Akshay Kumar. 'Earlier, producers and directors used to cast and heroes wouldn't interfere in casting. The first actor to interfere in casting with me was Akshay Kumar in Talash in 2002. He told me that 'we can start the movie tomorrow, and you can give me any amount that you want, but the heroine of this film will be Kareena Kapoor.' It was one of the most costly film of that time, it was made in Rs 22 crore. This was the first time in my career that an actor had demanded a certain cast,' he said. Pahlaj has produced films like Andaz, Aankhen in the 1990s, and in the recent years, he produced Govinda-starrer Rangeela Raja and a sequel to Neha Dhupia-starrer Julie, albeit with a different cast. Pahlaj remains a controversial figure, for producing films with suggestive themes and his tenure as the CBFC chairperson. ALSO READ | Ramayana Teaser Out: Ranbir Kapoor's first look as Ram, Yash as Ravan in mythological epic; credits are a reminder of Game of Thrones Previously, Varun Badola, in a chat with the YouTube channel Zindagi with Richa, was asked if Ekta was responsible for 'ruining' Indian television and he said, 'More than spoiling the content on TV, Ekta Kapoor changed the face of Indian television, whether for the good or the bad. She went from strength to strength because the shows were earning money. In our industry, when corporates get involved, they don't care about the art form; they just want to earn money. Once Ekta had said in an interview that if you want to make a show your way, put your own money and make it, and she wasn't wrong. You have to deal with so much pressure otherwise.' Actor Mukesh Khanna also criticised Ekta Kapoor, specifically for her show Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki, and shared with Siddharth Kannan, 'If you look at the Pandavas and their costumes in Ekta Kapoor's show, they were looking like models, exposing their bodies. Bheem wasn't looking like Bheem, and neither was Arjun. If you look at five of them together, you won't be able to recall who was who.'
Indian Express
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Pahlaj Nihalani says ‘actors want diet food in the morning, drugs at night'; recalls Akshay Kumar forcing Kareena Kapoor's casting: ‘Pay me what you want but…'
Filmmaker and former Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani recently shared his thoughts on the rising entourage costs of actors and recalled the time when Akshay Kumar interfered in the casting of the 2003 film Talaash: The Hunt Begins, insisting on casting Kareena Kapoor in the lead role. Speaking on the YouTube channel Learn From The Legend, Pahlaj admitted that he wasn't used to actors determining a film's casting, as he had only ever seen producers and directors taking those decisions. However, he said that times have changed, and today's actors often dictate not just the cast but also the choice of directors. He shared an example from his own experience during the making of Talaash, when Akshay insisted on casting Kareena. He said, 'Earlier, producers and directors used to cast and heroes wouldn't interfere in casting. The first actor to interfere in casting with me was Akshay Kumar in Talash in 2002. He told me that 'we can start the movie tomorrow, and you can give me any amount that you want, but the heroine of this film will be Kareena Kapoor.' It was one of the most costly film of that time, it was made in Rs 22 crore. This was the first time in my career that an actor had demanded a certain cast.' Pahlaj shared that Akshay insisted on casting Kareena because he wanted to star opposite a younger actor. 'Sometimes, as the actors grow old they want to star against younger actresses so that their own age looks less. That was the first time I heard that, but these days actors decide everything and producers work as a courier service.' The veteran filmmaker also shared his disapproval of the growing entourage expenses that have become a hot topic in the Hindi film industry. According to Pahlaj, the current working culture has become bloated with unnecessary demands and vanity. He said, 'Where one person was working now 10 people are employed. Earlier, there used to be one vanity van, but now actors demand six vanity vans — one for exercising, one for kitchen, one for meetings. Sharam ani chahiye un actors ko ko che vanity vans mangate hai (Actors feel ashamed for asking for 6 vanity vans). Earlier only makeup man used to go with actors, now they demand a separate hairdresser and a person just to hold their mirror. They give Rs 1.5 lakh bills for nothing. Earlier they used to bring home cooked food, but now they want diet food. They want drugs at night and diet food in the morning.'
News18
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Karisma 'Begged' To Be In Andaz, Anil Kapoor Is 'Desperate, Number 1 Liar': Pahlaj Nilhani
Last Updated: Pahlaj refuted Anil Kapoor's claim of objecting to the Khada Hai Khada Hai song from Andaz. Film producer and former CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani has levelled allegations against brothers Anil Kapoor and Boney Kapoor. In a recent chat with Vickey Lalwani, Pahlaj refuted Anil Kapoor's claim of objecting to the Khada Hai Khada Hai song from Andaz. He mentioned that Anil and Karisma Kapoor 'begged' to work with him, with only Juhi Chawla voicing any objection. He also accused Boney Kapoor of poaching Madhuri Dixit by telling her lies. Reacting to Anil Kapoor's claims, Pahlaj said, 'I know of this interview. I told him off also once. He called Andaz a B-grade movie. He was desperate to do it. Karisma begged me to be in it. People were desperate to work with me, and Anil Kapoor was one of them. He's done so many B-grade movies in his life, how can he say that he did Andaz for money?" Nihalani clarified that Anil Kapoor had no objections to the song and said, 'He's jhoota number one. This never happened. He must've heard the song 'Khada Hai Khada Hai' 50 times before we shot it. He'd say, 'This song will make our film a hit.'" He added that only Juhi Chawla had some issues with the song. He said, 'Unlike Anil Kapoor, who was crazy about the song, and was sure that it would be a superhit. He's spreading lies and defaming me. I've never made a B-grade movie in my life!" Pahlaj also levelled poaching allegations against Boney Kapoor. 'I signed Madhuri Dixit. I was the one who found her a secretary. She was about to do my movie, but people created problems. Boney Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Subhash Ghai, and the lot spread the rumour that Govinda wouldn't want to work with a newcomer like her. I signed her, I got her a secretary, I offered her a role, but she backed out. They trapped her with their lies. Madhuri, the poor girl, was a 'gungi'. But Boney and his gang trapped her. Then I hired Neelam," he said. First Published:
Indian Express
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
David Dhawan was a ‘dummy director', went missing from shoots, fed ‘zeher' in Govinda's mind: Pahlaj Nihalani
Back in the 1990s, David Dhawan made a series of massive hits. These include films like Raja Babu, Aankhen, Hero No 1, Haseena Maan Jayegi, Bol Radha Bol, among many others, and some of these films were produced by Pahlaj Nihalani. In a new interview, Pahlaj claimed that David wouldn't be present at his shoots, and for him, he was a 'dummy director.' Pahlaj implied that he did all the heavy lifting, but David believed that he was the one delivering one hit after another. With Pahlaj, David made Shola Aur Shabnam, Aankhen, Andaz, and some lesser known films like Aag Ka Gola and Aandhiyan. In a chat shared on Vickey Lalwani's YouTube channel, Pahlaj said that David 'poisoned' Govinda's mind against him. 'They thought I had made a lot of money from Aankhen because of them; when in fact, they got famous because of me. I got the story and the screenplay, dialogues were written by Anees Bazmee, I was the one who went for song recordings, I would shoot the songs. David only filmed the scenes. In Aankhen, during the climax shoot of 27 days, David was not there, not even for a single day. He was shooting for something else in Mumbai. During a lot of action scenes, I was the one on the shoot, David wouldn't be there,' he said. When asked why he kept signing David for multiple films if he wasn't delivering what he promised, Pahlaj said, 'For me, he was a dummy director. The film will always be mine because I was the producer,' he declared. Pahlaj then shared that they never fought but their fallout happened because David was apparently badmouthing Pahlaj in front of other actors. ALSO READ | Sitaare Zameen Par Movie Review Live Updates: Early reviews hail 'Aamir Khan's best film', praise chemistry with Genelia; Salman Khan, Juhi Chawla lead support 'He believed that Aankhen and Shola Aur Shabnam worked because of him. And he would say that I paid Anil Kapoor, and not him. All these films – Deewana Mastana, Jodi No 1, Haseena Maan Jayegi… Deewana Mastana was adapted from an English film and I was the one who showed him that film. I also discussed Haseena Maan Jayegi with him… David has always enjoyed copying others' work. He made all these films with other producers,' he said. A huge majority of David's films were remakes of Tamil, Telugu and English films. Pahlaj further claimed that presumably, David wanted to be addressed as 'David ji'. 'I think he wanted people to call him David ji and I would never call him that. It was perhaps this complex… I analysed that he is probably scared of facing me,' he said, and added, 'He never said that call me David Ji… I could see that's how he thought, I am a human after all.' He also added, 'David is the kind of man who will only call when he has an ulterior motive. He doesn't respect relationships, he only thinks about himself. He is only looking out for how to make money.'
