Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Sep 17: The Government of India has reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with immediate effect, appointing 18 members from the entertainment and cultural sectors, including actors, filmmakers, musicians and other personalities.
Among the prominent names on the reconstituted board are actors Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty, Roopali Ganguly, Pallavi Joshi and Prosenjit Chatterjee. Filmmaker Priyadarshan and Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej have also been appointed to the panel.
The 18 members of the reconstituted CBFC are Vinod Anupam, Manoj Joshi, Abhishek Jain, Ricky Kej, Priyadarshan, Suniel Shetty, Hansraj Hans, Supriya Yarlagadda, Yatindra Mishra, Roopali Ganguly, Preity Zinta, Neela Madhab Panda, Pankaj Tripathi, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Pallavi Joshi, Nishigandha Wad, Waman Kendre and Ramesh Patange.
The CBFC, commonly known as the Censor Board, examines films before their public exhibition in India. It functions under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in accordance with the Cinematograph Act, 1952, certification rules and government guidelines.
Films are granted certification based on their content, with categories including U for unrestricted public exhibition, UA for films requiring age-related caution, A for adult audiences and S for specialised audiences. The UA category also includes age markers such as UA 7+, UA 13+ and UA 16+.
The certification process involves Examining Committees, while Revising Committees can review films when producers or the board are dissatisfied with an examining committee's decision.
The constitution of Revising Committees was discussed at the CBFC's August 29 meeting, its first in six years. Members sought details about individuals who had consistently headed such committees in recent years.
The CBFC is headquartered in Mumbai and operates through nine regional offices, including those in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram. Regional offices are supported by advisory panels comprising members from different walks of life.
The certification process has also been digitised through the e-Cinepramaan system, introduced in 2017. According to the Ministry, the system aims to improve transparency and ensure time-bound processing while enabling producers to track their applications.