The first meeting to revamp the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) took place in Mumbai on Saturday.
The panel, headed by popular filmmaker Shyam Benegal was chaired by Minister of Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore also attended the meeting. Rathore had said on Friday that the way the CBFC functions must change and the government is mulling new reforms to that effect.
The Film Federation of India (FFI) from different states were asked to make specific suggestions on various issues, specifically pertaining to censorship.
The Times of India reports that the Cinematograph Act and rules are being interpreted differently by each CBFC regional office/officers and members, and the film industry wants censorship to not be left to the discretion of individuals.
The excess cuts of many scenes from films have raised many objections by filmmakers.
Post the preliminary meeting, Benegal expressed that this is “a positive and important step because it is important to look at it from the point of view of grading films rather than cutting them.”
The other members on the Shyam Benegal panel are Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Piyush Pandey, Bhawana Somaaya, and Nina Lath Gupta.
(With input from sources.)
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