Central Board of Film Certification

The CBFC or Central Board of Film Certification is considered a constitutional film-certification body that does the job of regulating the public exhibition of movies under the requirement of the 1952 Cinematograph Act. The films that are screened in movie halls and televisions can be exhibited publicly in India after they have got certified by the board. 

What is the Criterion of the Censor Board to Give Certificates to Films?

The criteria of the Censor Board to give certificates to films is pretty easy. The CBFC holds the right to review television serials, different visual materials, television commercials, and, most importantly, films. This body gives certificates to every program that the public sees. A movie that has adult material gets the certificate “A”, and its circulation remains confined to adults who have attained the age of eighteen years only.

According to the estimation, there are above 1250 feature films and short films that get produced in the film industry of India every year. Based on an estimate, nearly fifteen million people in India watch movies regularly via various sources, such as online, cinemas, CDs, and various other mediums. Some years ago, the total amount of revenue that the film industry of India collected was Rs. 13,800 crore, and it was equivalent to 2.1 billion. In the year 2020, this amount escalated to 23.800 crores. If television, music, movies, and other industries increased to $3.1 billion by the year 2020.

People hold the opinion that movies are the mirror of our society, and so, these films show various incidents that happen in society. However, films are nothing but half-truth only as most of the films get formed on imagination only, and so, they show lots of violence and nudity. Hence, the Indian Censor Board was formed for regulating films, television serials, and video releases in India.

What is a Certificate Movie?

The matter of film certificates in India continues to come to the fore. Currently, it came into the limelight when the CBFC was criticized by the court as it refused to give the certification “U” to Chidiakhana. The Children’s Film Society of India had produced it, and the CBFC had provided the certificate “U/A” for this film. Hence, it is vital for every person to know the process in which a film gets certification.

The Setup of CBFC

The Central Board of Film Certification encompasses twenty-five board members, and there are sixty advisory panel members who have hailed from different parts of India. The Chairperson heads it. The Information and Broadcasting or I&B Ministry appoints the members of the CBFC. Commonly, the board members happen to be television professionals and film actors. However, members who do not belong to the film or television industry can become members of the advisory panel. The term of the board members and the chairperson do range from 3 years, and the members of the advisory panel are 2 years from the time they have got an appointment. The CEO is appointed to look after the administrative performance of the body through the Examining Committees that do certify the films comprise the regional officers.

Types of Film Certificates by the Censor Board in India

Commonly, there are 4 types of film certificates by the censor board in India. Earlier, there were present only a couple of certificates; 

U–U certificate meant the unrestricted, public exhibition

A–Restricted to adult audiences

In June 1983, two more were included, and they are:

U/A–U/A is meant for unrestricted, public exhibition, but children who have not attained the age of 12 years need parental guidance for watching these movies.

S–S is meant to be restricted to specialized audiences only, like scientists or doctors. The board might not agree to give certification to a film. Again, V/UA, V/Z, and V/U are utilized for video releases. U/A, A, and U do mean the same thing.

• U Certificate – Films that get the U certification are found to be ideal for unrestricted, public exhibition. The entire family can watch these films. The films that are categorized as U are also family-friendly. The films that get U certificate might comprise universal themes, such as family, education, romance, drama, action, sci-fi. However, these films can comprise a little violence too, but this violence shouldn’t be prolonged. Again, films with U certificate might also comprise few sexual scenes but in the absence of sexual detail or nudity.

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• U/A Certificate – Films that get the U/A certification might include adult themes in a moderate amount. However, the adult content will not be very strong. And so, even a child under his parental guidance can watch these kinds of films. These films also include moderate-to-strong violence, frightening scenes, moderate sexual scenes, and also muted abusive language.

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• A Certificate – Films that get the A certification remain available for public exhibition but certainly with some confinement to adults. These movies might comprise strong sexual scenes, brutally strong violence, strong abusive language, and also some adult or controversial themes that are viewed as unsuitable for the young viewers. However, you must be mindful that these films can’t contain words that degrade or insult any social group or women. These films are habitually re-certified with V/UA or V/U for video and television viewing. Nonetheless, this does not happen when the matter comes to U/A or U-certified films.

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• S Certificate – Films that get an S certification are not allowed to be viewed by people. 

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When does a Film not Get Certification?

Besides the above certifications, sometimes films get refused as they fail to follow the censor certificate guidelines of the board, and they are:

Anti-social activities might not be glorified.

The following things are prohibited:

• Children involved in abuse or violent acts.

• Ridicule or abuse of the mentally or physically handicapped.

• Unimportant depictions of unkindness done to animals.

• Criminal acts might not be depicted.

• Horror, cruelty, or gratuitous violence.

• No scenes that encourage drug addiction, smoking, or the consumption of alcohol.

• No depravity, obscenity, vulgarity, or scenes that are degrading women and that include sexual violence.

• No denigration by religion or race. 

• No national emblems or symbols except according to the Names and the Emblems.

• Relations with foreign nations must not be affected.

Some Interesting Facts About Films

• India has got the largest industry of films in the world as it makes more than 1250 feature films. Again, it also makes short films and larger films every year. According to an estimate, nearly 15 million people watch films in India every year on CDs or by going to a cinema house.

• There is a massive investment in movies, and countless people do earn their living from it. And so, it becomes pretty natural for filmmakers to put their best efforts to make films that would bring the finest results.

• While concentrating on films, filmmakers also concentrate on the escalating competition from cable, satellite, video, and televisions. Hence, filmmakers go a little overboard in the things they show. These things seem appealing to some, but some people do not accept them.

• The film certification is not enough to stop violations. If people see violations, they should step in besides helping the law enforcement agents to strengthen the mechanism of film certification.