CBFC Board Reconstituted: The Central Government has reorganized the Central Board of Film Certification i.e. CBFC. A total of 18 members have been included in this new board, whose tenure will be three years. This decision has come at a time when there is often heated debate between film producers and audiences regarding the release of films, cuts and certification. There was a demand for restructuring of the board for a long time, which has now been implemented.
Reconstitution of the board after a long wait
According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the process of reconstitution of the board was pending for a long time. Officials associated with the ministry say that many members of the old board were no longer active, while some members had died during their tenure. According to the rules, the board should usually be constituted every three years. It was last formed in the year 2017 with 12 members. Now after a long gap of about nine years, there has been a change in the board and the number of members has been increased to 18.
Scissors and controversy over the release of films
In recent times, there has been a lot of tussle regarding the certification of films. The biggest and most famous example of this was actor Diljit Dosanjh's film 'Sutlej', whose earlier name was 'Punjab 95'. This film was sent to CBFC for certification in the year 2022. After this the film had to wait for almost three years to get approval from the board. The filmmakers alleged that the board had demanded about 127 cuts in the film.
When this film was released on a digital platform without any cuts with the new name 'Sutlej', a new controversy arose over it. Within just 48 hours of hitting the screens, the film was pulled from the Indian audience. This entire incident made it clear how the decisions of the Censor Board can change the future of any film and the path of its release. Filmmakers also have to suffer huge losses due to heavy cuts, changes and long delays.
Other films came under the scrutiny of Censor Board
The strict scrutiny of the Censor Board has not been limited to just one film. Many other films also had to face strict conditions from the board before their release. For example, the film 'Welcome to the Jungle' was given UA 16 Plus certificate only after 18 changes. Similarly, the certification dispute regarding the film 'Jana Nayakan' also became very deep, due to which the matter reached the court and the release of the film was delayed. Due to these continuously emerging controversies, voices were being raised continuously from within the film industry regarding the attitude of the Board.
Many big faces of the cinema world got the responsibility
Many big names of Indian cinema and art world have been given place in the new 18-member board constituted by the government. These include well-known actors Manoj Joshi, Sunil Shetty, actress Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi and veteran Bengali cinema actor Prosenjit Chatterjee. Apart from this, famous film director Priyadarshan and musician Ricky Cage have also been made a part of this board.
Other members included in the board include Vinod Anupam, Abhishek Jain, singer and former MP Hansraj Hans, Supriya Yarlagadda, Yatindra Mishra, TV actress Rupali Ganguly, Neela Madhab Panda, Pallavi Joshi, Nishigandha Wad, Vaman Kendre and Ramesh Patange. All these members have been included in the board in view of their contribution in the field of art, cinema and culture.
Legal process and powers of the board
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has clarified that this reorganization has been done in exercise of the powers granted under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Cinematograph Act 1952 and Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 2024. The new board has come into force with immediate effect and will continue to function in this form for a period of three years or until further orders.
There is no change in the legal powers of the Board or its defined role due to this reorganization. As before, CBFC will continue the work of examination and certification of films on the basis of the Cinematograph Act and 2024 rules. The only difference is that now new faces have joined the team that reviews films and issues certificates. Now it remains to be seen how fast and transparent the certification process will be after the arrival of the new team.
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