This was indicated by Sharmila Tagore, the chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) recently. "I think the CBFC should have a new category, a 15 plus category, between U/A and A, because there is a huge difference between a 12 and a 15 year old. The bill for the change is yet to be tabled in the Parliament but I think most producers will be happy with the development," said Tagore. Currently, movies in India are certified under four categories – U, U/A, A and S. Filmmakers like Prakash Jha, Sudhir Mishra and Madhur Bhandarkar have not been happy with the certification of their movies in the recent past, but Tagore, who took over as CBFC chairperson in 2004, says the Board has been trying to match the changing times with a liberal approach. "I cannot deny that the Board has become liberal during my tenure. The audience has matured over the years and so has cinema," said Tagore.
The Board has passed controversial movies like "Omkara", "Kaminey", "Ishqiya" and "No One Killed Jessica" without any cuts, although with an 'A' certificate. Tagore said she is not in favour of cuts as deleting scenes destroys the film. "We're trying to do with just certification. But sometimes the producers come to us saying that they do not want an 'A' certificate. "For example, if the producers of 'No One Killed Jessica' would've asked for a U/A certificate, we'd have had to cut the abusive language and Rani Mukerji's character'd have been destroyed," says Tagore. But she does not agree with filmmakers who question the need of a regulatory body. Tagore says it is important to maintain a standard for cinema in India, where sensibilities differ regionwise. "Self-regulation is the best policy but it's due to the absence of one cohesive film body that the CBFC does the part. In other democracies like the US and the UK, film bodies ban films and order cuts, though theirs is a much more mature society," she said. PTI
