Censor board should not have political appointees: Bharathiraja

Veteran Tamil filmmaker P. Bharathiraja warned the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a February letter that the Central Board of Film Certification should not appoint politically affiliated people to its advisory panels. In the letter, obtained by The Hindu, Mr. Bharathiraja said, “We recommend that to maintain neutrality and objectivity of the board, a member of the advisory panel should not be affiliated to any political party, directly or indirectly, as it is bringing in a bias during the certification process otherwise.” He added, “A board member appointed must be a neutral person, eminent and known for his achievements in writing, … filmmaking, film production or in any important field of film production, literature or arts. Businesspersons or persons with political affiliation should be avoided as a member.” In response to a proposal in the draft Cinematograph Rules, 2024 that applicants should not be involved when a censor board panel is watching a movie, Mr. Bharathiraja said this would “totally affect the entire process of film certification,” and insisted that filmmakers should be allowed to discuss changes with the panel immediately after the screening. Tatkal censorship The TFAPA letter also opposed the proposal for an expedited film certification programme of three working days, arguing that CBFC regional offices were “working professionally” and “completing the examination process within a week” of producers submitting their work for consideration.