A welcome news for the film industry and the millions of consumers of the film industry. According to Information and Broadcasting sources, the CBFC (Censor Board) will be stripped of its ‘censoring’ powers. When the proposed amendments to the Cinematography Act will be passed in the Parliament, censor board will become purely a certification body.
The CBFC chairman Pahlaj Nihalani had earlier courted controversy over many cuts for many movies particularly for the movie ‘Udta Punjab’. The suggested amendments would put an end to such controversies as the CBFC will cease to have censorship powers.
The amendments which when passed will have many provisions, the most prominent being
1. The members of the two committees will also be appointed from the National Commission for Women, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights including psychologists.
2. The films will be given certificates, the categories for certification will be as follows: U12+, U15+, A and A+ (for extreme violence and sex scenes).
3. The monitoring committee will not clear more than two movies a day.
4. There will be a ‘tatkal’ category for movies who want urgent clearance, subject to extra payment.
5. Money collected for certification will go to the Labour Ministry, which sends the money for the welfare of the workers involved in film making.
The Logical Indian welcomes the proposed changes. In the age of internet, censorship has lost its relevance. We thank the government for the progressive step taken on this front. We are confident, the viewer/consumer will be empowered by these proposed changes.