Strip film censors of powers to order cuts: Shyam Benegal panel

New Delhi: The Shyam Benegal committee has said the Central Board of Film Certification be stripped of the power to order cuts in movies, and its powers be limited to classifying films.

“We are recommending CBFC should not use scissors on any film. We suggest in addition to the classifications we have, we should have two categories of U/A, one plus-12 and one plus-15, and two adult categories, one normal adult and another adult with caution,” Benegal said.

The committee was set up by the I&B ministry for a relook at the controversy-ridden board’s working. It submitted its recommendations on Tuesday.

CBFC can step in only in case of national interest
In its recommendations submitted to the I&B ministry Tuesday, the Shyam Benegal committee said the CBFC’s scope should be limited to categorising the suitability of a film to audiences on the basis of age and maturity. The only exception is when a film contains anything violating Section 5B(1) of the Cinematograph Act 1952, relating to national interest and security.

On categorisation of films, the Shyam Benegal committee has recommended it should be more specific, and apart from the U category, the U/A category be broken up into further sub-categories — U/A12+ and U/A15+. The A category should also be subdivided into A and AC (Adult with Caution) categories.

Besides Benegal, the panel includes actor Kamal Hassan, filmmaker  Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, Piyush Pandey, Goutam Ghose, Bhawana Somaaya and senior officials of the I&B ministry.

Another case when the panel has recommended that the CBFC can refuse certification is when the “content in a film crosses the ceiling laid down in the highest category of certification”.