The Information and Broadcasting (I & B) Ministry will soon begin discussing the recommendations of the Shyam Benegal committee, which has been looking into overhauling the Cinematograph Act of 1952, under which the CBFC was constituted. The Ministry has invited film producers and other members of the industry for a major conference in Mumbai, to discuss the report submitted by the committee.
According to DNA, a source close to Mr Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for I&B, said ,”Mr Rathore has invited producers from every state, from Bengal to Karnataka, and from Mumbai to Chennai to discuss the finer points in the reports on censorship amendments suggested by the Shyam Benegal committee and Justice Mudgal’s report. Every opinion would be given equal weightage. The idea is to take into confidence the requirements of every region before changes are brought into censorship rules.”
The source further said that the result of the conference could lead to a completely different system of certification and censorship. This is especially pertinent given that the CBFC has been frequently criticised by the film fraternity for its rulings.
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The Shyam Benegal committee was constituted under the Information & Broadcasting minster, to look into the Cinematograph Act of 1952. Although the committee had sent its partial and final report by 2016, they were yet to get a response. Among its many recommendations was the abolishing of existing certification categories and the creation of a more streamlined system of rating films.
“We may soon have entirely new censorship guidelines or for all we know the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) as we know it may cease to exist.It will all depend on what producers feel about censorship rules,” said a source in the I&B ministry.