Shyam Benegal panel for fewer cuts in films

The Censor Board should wield the scissors sparingly and create more categories for film certification, a committee headed by filmmaker Shyam Benegal has recommended in a move to protect artistic freedom.

In the first part of its report presented to Union information and broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley, it recommended that certification should be more specific. It has called for sub-categorisation of the Universal (U) category to include UA12+ and UA15+. The Adult (A) category too will be subdivided into A and AC (Adult with Caution) categories.

Set up on January 1, the committee was mandated to lay down a holistic framework for certification of films. Once the second

NEW DELHI:

report — that will deliberate on issues such as animal welfare in films and allowing smoking on screen — is submitted, the government will formalise the new set of guidelines for the board.

“The government’s intention was that the Censor Board should be responsible for certification only. Restrictions on artistic freedom should be as per the Constitution,” MoS for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said.

The report echoes this view. It says the CBFC should only be a film certification body whose scope should be restricted to categorising the suitability of a film to audience groups on the basis of age and maturity.

The board, headed by Pahlaj Nihalani, has been under attack for its decision to cut and mute expletives in films.