Govinda says Pahlaj Nihalani helped him rise above poverty: ‘He was our foundation stone’

3 min readNew DelhiJun 4, 2026 09:13 PM IST

Producer and former Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani died on Thursday at the age of 76. Several Bollywood celebrities attended his funeral to pay their last respects. Among them was Govinda, who shared a heartfelt tribute while talking to the media.

The actor said, “Param aadarniya Pahlaj Nihalani, humaare neev ke pathar the. Mai aur mujh jaise kalakaar jo gareebi ki daur se upar aaye, usme aapka sahyog raha (The most respectable Pahlaj Nihalani was our foundation stone. You helped artistes like me and many more rise above poverty).”

The actor continued, “Aur desh me kam se kam ek darzan aise kalakaar rahe honge, ke aadarniya Pahlaj Nihalani jo hai, unka sehyog aur saath me zameen se aasmaan pe pahuchaane ka jo ek chandrama ka kaarya hota hai wo upar wale ne diya (And there must have been at least a dozen such artistes in the country whom he supported).”

ALSO READ | ‘There’s a lot of Govinda and Salman Khan in Varun Dhawan,’ says Chunky Panday

Govinded concluded, “Mai bahut poore Sindhi samaaj ka aur Pahlaj ji ka pranaam karta hun. Prarthana karte hai ki aapki aatma ko shanti pradaan kare aur hum jaise kayi log jo aise artist jo aaj world me famous wo aise log aashirwaad se hue hai (I salute the entire Sindhi community and Pahlaj ji. We pray that your soul rests in peace and many people like us who have become artistes and are famous in the world today have become so because of the blessings of such people).”

After collaborating in Ilzaam, Pahlaj Nihalani and Govinda worked together in many hit films like Shola Aur Shabnam and Aankhen.

What Pahlaj Nihalani said about Govinda

Earlier, during an interview with Learn From The Legend, Pahlaj Nihalani recalled going through Govinda’s pictures before his debut in the film industry. “I saw his pictures at first and I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t like his look. He came the next day with his dance video cassette. Break dance was very popular because of Michael Jackson. I asked him about his talents. Then, although I didn’t like the face much, I cast him only because of his work (dance, action, etc). My story had a lot of action, hence I asked him for a day to get back. No one as talented as Govinda,” Pahlaj said.

Story continues below this ad

“When he didn’t have any work, I gave Shola Aur Shabnam to him. He was doing comedy for the first time. Then, when he didn’t have any work again, I gave him Aankhen. I changed his entire image. Both Shola Aur Shabnam and Aankhein were opposite,” he added.