New CBFC rules include age-related categories, more women representation, access for disabled

The I&B Ministry has notified the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, in supersession of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983.

The government has finally addressed some of the woes filmmakers and audiences have with the functioning of the Central Board of Film Certification. Pursuant to the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has notified the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, in supersession of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983. (Also Read: Vishal accuses CBFC of corruption, claims he paid ₹6.5 lakh to get certificate for Hindi release)

New CBFC rules indicate more age-related sub-categories

The Government had last year amended the Cinematograph Act, 1952 after a period of almost 40 years to comprehensively address the issues relating to film certification. They have been comprehensively overhauled to improve and contemporise the entire process of certification of films for public exhibition, an official release said on Friday. The release said there has been a comprehensive revision of the rules to fully align them with the adoption of online certification processes, which will ensure enhanced transparency, efficiency and ease of doing business for the film industry.

Here are the key aspects of these rules:

Age-based certification

As of now, any film is certified either A (for adults only), UA (requiring parental guidance for children under 12) and U (unrestricted public exhibition). However, now the ever-evolving category of UA has been further divided into three age-based sub-categories: seven years (UA 7 ), thirteen years (UA 13 ), and sixteen years (UA 16 ).

“It will play a crucial role in balancing the need to protect vulnerable audiences, such as children, with the principles of freedom of expression and consumer choice,” the release stated.

Reduction in time to get certified

The new rules facilitate a reduction in timelines for the processing of film certification and adopting complete digital processes to eliminate all transactional time. In line of doing ease of business, a provision has been introduced for ‘priority screening’ in order to expedite the certification, in case of any urgency felt by the filmmaker due to their prior commitments of release of the film. This would enhance transparency and eliminate all discretions.

More representation, access for women, disabled

The new rules state there will be greater representation of women in the CBFC Board and CBFC's Advisory Panels. It is stipulated that one-third of the members in the Board shall be women, and preferably half shall be women.

“Movies/feature films to have accessibility features for certification to make it inclusive for disabled persons, as stipulated in the guidelines issued in this regard from time to time,” the release further added.

Perpetual validity of CBFC certificates

The rules entail the removal of the restriction on the validity of certificates for only 10 years for perpetual validity of CBFC certificates. "Recertification of the edited film for Television broadcast, as only Unrestricted Public Exhibition (U) category films can be shown on television," the release further stated.

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