Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021: Bollywood puts up a united front

Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap and others wrote an open letter to the I&B Ministry. Pics/AFP

In the past week, the studied silence of the Hindi film industry has given way to a unified criticism of the draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021.
After several actors and filmmakers wrote an open letter to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, six film bodies - including the Producers' Guild, and Indian Film & Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) - issued a joint representation to the government on Friday. They expressed their reservation against the proposed amendments.

On Thursday, the Guild had also shot off a letter to the ministry in its personal capacity. The letter stated that the introduction of age-based certification, and central government's revisionary power with respect to certified films were amendments that "needed further clarity/needed to be vehemently opposed."
Manish Goswami, vice-president, Producers' Guild, confirmed the development, stating, "After a meeting with the producers last evening, we have sent a detailed letter to the ministry to reassess the proposed amendment."

Manish Goswami

In late June, the Centre released the draft, which gives the union government the power to recertify films that have been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). It also proposed that content be subjected to age-based classification: U/A7+, U/A13+ and U/A16+.

Through the letter, the Guild highlighted that the proposed amendment circumvents the Supreme Court's 2000 decision, which maintained that the union government could not exercise revisional powers. "Producers will never have certainty with respect to their film's certification, as even after receiving a certification, they may be called upon by the CBFC to either make further changes or be faced with a different certification. In a multi-cultural country such as India, it is likely that different individuals/associations will have their own moralistic views, and will judge each film through such a cultural lens. If the proposed amendment is allowed, it will open the floodgates for a subjective and moralistic review of films already certified (sic)," the letter read.

Ashoke Pandit, president, IFTDA, reportedly opposed the move, stating that the entertainment industry should not become a "scapegoat."

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