New Delhi: The Centre has reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with an 18-member panel, bringing prominent names from Indian cinema, television, music and literature onto the statutory film-certification body after a gap of more than six years. The new board, constituted with immediate effect, will have a tenure of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
18 member panel encompasses film and cultural personalities
The reconstituted board includes actors Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty, Pallavi Joshi, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Manoj Joshi, Roopali Ganguly and Nishigandha Wad.
Filmmakers Priyadarshan, Abhishek Jain and Nila Madhab Panda, producer Supriya Yarlagadda, music composer Ricky Kej, singer and former parliamentarian Hansraj Hans, film critic Vinod Anupam, poet and writer Yatindra Mishra, theatre director Waman Kendre and writer Ramesh Patange are also part of the new panel.
Five of the 18 members appointed to the board are women.
The government reconstituted the board in exercise of powers under Section 3(1) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, read with Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024. The notification was issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on September 16.
New board comes after six year lapse
The CBFC was last formally reconstituted on August 11, 2017, for a three-year term that ended in 2020. However, members continued in office beyond the stipulated period under provisions allowing them to remain until their successors were appointed.
The prolonged continuation of the previous panel had also come up in Parliament earlier this year. The government had clarified that under Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, members hold office during the pleasure of the Centre for a period not exceeding three years, while continuing until a successor is appointed.
The development comes weeks after the CBFC held its first board meeting in six years on August 29. Under the 2024 rules, the board is required to meet at least once every quarter.
Several new members with diverse backgrounds
The new panel brings together personalities with extensive experience across different regional and national film industries.
Priyadarshan is a veteran filmmaker known for his work in Malayalam and Hindi cinema, while Nila Madhab Panda has received recognition for films including I Am Kalam. Abhishek Jain is associated with Gujarati cinema, while Supriya Yarlagadda has worked as a producer in the Telugu film industry.
Ricky Kej, a three-time Grammy Award-winning composer and environmentalist, joins the board alongside prominent actors and performers from across India’s entertainment industry. Prosenjit Chatterjee is a leading figure in Bengali cinema, while Manoj Joshi has worked extensively across film, television and theatre.
Yatindra Mishra is a Hindi poet, writer and music scholar, while Waman Kendre, a Padma Shri recipient, is a noted theatre director and former director of the National School of Drama.
The new panel also retains two members from the previous board including Waman Kendre and Ramesh Patange. Patange is an RSS pracharak and author and his renowned book includes, “Why Are We in the RSS…?”.
Roopali Ganguly joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while Hansraj Hans represented North West Delhi in the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024. Pallavi Joshi, meanwhile, was among the producers and cast members of The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, who was part of the outgoing CBFC board.
The reconstitution takes place under CBFC chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati, who was appointed to the post in May this year for a three-year term after lyricist Prasoon Joshi stepped down following his appointment as chairman of Prasar Bharati.
The CBFC, a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is responsible for certifying films for public exhibition in India.
