Entertainment
Pahlaj Nihalani Death: Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani Passes Away at 76 Know Death Reason, Family, Career
3 min readUpdated: Jun 4, 2026 10:08 PM IST
Pahlaj Nihalani Death News: Pahlaj Nihalani, the producer who was instrumental in launching popular actors such as Govinda and Chunky Panday and later became one of the most controversial chairpersons of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), died on Thursday after battling age-related ailments. He was 76.
Nihalani produced a string of commercially successful entertainers in the 1980s and 1990s. His tenure as the CBFC chief — he was appointed on January 19, 2015 and sacked on August 11, 2017 — was riddled with controversies, especially after he circulated a list of 28 words that should not be used in movies.
The veteran producer’s last rites were performed at the Santacruz Hindu Crematorium in Mumbai at 3 pm. A number of Hindi film personalities, including Shatrughan Sinha, Saif Ali Khan, Varun Dhawan, Malaika Arora, Govinda, Farhan Akhtar and others, paid their final respects.
Pahlaj Nihalani made his debut as a producer with the Shatrughan Sinha-starrer Haathkadi (1982) and went on to back a string of commercially successful Hindi films over the next two decades. He is widely credited with launching the careers of actors Govinda, whom he cast in Ilzaam (1986) after being impressed by his dancing skills, Chunky Panday in Aag Hi Aag (1987) and Divya Bharti in Shola Aur Shabnam (1992) in the Hindi film industry. His other productions include Gunahon Ka Faisla (1987), Paap Ki Duniya (1988), Mitti Aur Sona (1989) among others. One of Nihalani’s biggest successes as a producer was Aankhen (1993), starring Govinda and Chunky. While the film was a blockbuster, it also faced criticism for its double entendre dialogues.
Also Read – Pahlaj Nihalani launched Govinda despite not ‘liking his face’: ‘I hired him for his dance’
In 2014, Nihalani drew a lot of public attention after releasing a video — Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi — supporting Narendra Modi ahead of the general elections.
Before he took charge as the CBFC chairman in 2015, Nihalani served as president of the Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programme Producers for 29 years.
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One of the major controversies during his tenure as the CBFC chairman was the 89 cuts suggested in the film Udta Punjab, directed by Abhishek Chaubey. The film’s makers moved the Bombay High Court, which ordered its release with a single cut, overruling the CBFC’s demands.
Pahlaj Nihalani triggered several other controversies and outrage among filmmakers with his whimsical decisions and statements. He trimmed kissing scenes in Daniel Craig-starrer Spectre, the 24th instalment in the James Bond series. He gave ‘A’ certificate to Hansal Mehta-directed Aligarh, which follows the story of a queer professor, and infamously called Alankrita Srivastav-directed Lipstick Under My Burkha a “lady-oriented” film.
After memes and social media posts took a dig at him and called him “sanskari”, Nihalani reportedly registered the title ‘Sanskari’ for a movie to be made under his banner. He never made this movie, but went on to distribute erotic thriller Julie 2 some months after his CBFC term ended.
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