The Central Board of Film Certification has now been reconstituted with a new 18-member board featuring names such as Suniel Shetty, Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi and Prosenjit Chatterjee. At the same time, the government has issued revised film certification guidelines for the first time in nearly 35 years. The framework retains several longstanding provisions covering violence, obscenity, sexual violence, communal content, national security and friendly relations with foreign states, while adding a mandatory warning for depictions of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. It also provides for UA 7+, UA 13+ and UA 16+ age markers. But the bigger question is how terms such as “glorification of violence”, “denigrating women” and content affecting diplomatic relations will be interpreted. With creative freedom and certification rules often intersecting, the new guidelines could once again put the spotlight on who decides where artistic expression ends and regulatory restrictions begin.
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