CBFC to take industry inputs to refine certification process

Prasoon Joshi

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has decided to facilitate industry interaction to refine the movie certification process.

This was decided at the first board meeting of the newly instituted censor board a month after writer-ad man Prasoon Joshi was appointed its chief. The meeting was held on Monday.

It was attended by board members Gautami Tadimalla, Jeevitha Rajashekar, Mihir Bhuta, Naresh Chandra Lal, Neil Scott Nongkynrih, Ramesh Patnage, T.S. Nagabharna, Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Vidya Balan, Vivek Agnihotri and Waman Kendre. Also present was the CEO Anurag Shrivastava.

Joshi said in a statement: "The purpose is clearly to make things better for all stakeholders where there is mutual respect and collaboration.

"It was felt that the constant fine-tuning of our sensibilities towards the changing world of cinema is desirable and also that the processes should be further streamlined for the benefit of the industry practitioners.

"The CBFC also decided that soon they would have an industry interaction to share the refinement of the processes and take industry inputs to make the certification process as smooth as possible."

A reconstituted panel for the CBFC was announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on August 11, the same day Joshi replaced Pahlaj Nihalani as the body's chairperson.

Newly appointed board member Vidya Balan said the first meeting was a great first step in the right direction "towards understanding our role as the board and determining our approach".

"It was reassuring to know we are all on the same page," said the National Award winning actress.

Vani said they sat for several hours and thrashed out most of the issues they have been faced with, which is a big step.