Shyam Benegal Committee submits its report on Cinematograph Act/ Rules to Shri Jaitley

 A Committee had been set up on 1st jan under the Chairmanship of Shri Shyam Benegal to lay down norms for film certification that take note of best practices in various parts of the world and give sufficient and adequate space for artistic and creative expression,  lay down procedures and guidelines for the benefit of the CBFC Board to follow and examine staffing patterns with a view to recommending a framework that would provide efficient and transparent user friendly services. 

The Committee chaired by Shri Shyam Benegal submitted major part of their recommendation to Hon’ble Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Arun Jaitley .

Major highlights of the report –

•  CBFC should only be a film certification body whose scope should be restricted to categorizing the suitability of the film to audience groups on the basis of age and maturity.
•  The applicant must specify the category of certification being sought and the target audience.

The objective of these guidelines would be to ensure that –

o   Children and adults are protected from potentially harmful or unsuitable content

o   Audiences, particularly parents are empowered to make informed viewing decisions

o   Artistic expression and creative freedom are not unduly curbed in the process of classification of films

o   The process of certification by CBFC is responsive, at all times, to social change

o   The certification by CBFC keeps within the rights and obligations as laid down in the Indian Constitution.

•  Regarding the categorisation of films, the committee recommends that it should be more specific and apart from U category, the UA Category can be broken up into further sub-categories – UA12+ & UA15+. The A category should also be sub-divided into A and AC (Adult with Caution) categories.