Bill proposes graded age ratings for films, but censorship to stay

U/A, the classification used by the CBFC to indicate films that can only be watched by minors if they have an adult accompanying them, will be split into three levels, once the Bill becomes law.

The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 introduces graded age ratings for movies for the first time, allowing viewers — particularly parents — to take more factors into account when they watch a film, or when they let their children go unaccompanied to the cinema. However, the changes fall short of what an expert committee chaired by filmmaker Shyam Benegal recommended to the Union government in 2017, as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) retains its censorship powers, rather than becoming a mere classification authority. 

U/A, the classification used by the CBFC to indicate films that can only be watched by minors if they have an adult accompanying them, will be split into three levels, once the Bill becomes law.

The new age ratings are U/A 7+, U/A 13+, and U/A 16+. This means, for instance, that minors who are 14 years old can watch films rated U/A 7+ and U/A 13+ unaccompanied. In theory, this could mean that films that deal with mature content could be released without being given an ‘A’ or adult only certificate, which the film industry usually dislikes due to the limited distribution it entails in cinemas.

Some filmmakers, who have spent their careers navigating the old ‘U’, ‘U/A’, and ‘A’ regime, are not too convinced about the material benefits of the proposed new system. Biju Janata Dal Rajya Sabha MP and film director Prashant Nanda said on Friday in Parliament, “When a filmmaker starts to make a film, he decides… who are his targeted audience. If his targeted audience is the entire people of this country, then he will make his film in such a way which will attract only ‘U’. But when he thinks that, ‘No, my film is for a certain group of people, and I don’t need children to see my film’, then [he] will make an adult film.”

The relevance of age ratings aside, the CBFC has retained its censorship powers, which it exercises even for films with the highest possible ‘A’ classification. Nudity is almost always censored in cinemas, as is a certain set of swear words across languages. The film Viduthalai Part 1 directed by Vetri Maaran, for instance, has an ‘A’ rating, and has also had all instances of three commonly used Tamil swear words muted by the censor.

The persistence of statutory film censorship in an era of streaming and social media also provoked scepticism in the Parliamentary debate. Dr. Nanda pointed out, “You can see that everybody has got a mobile, everyone has got television, and above all OTT [streaming] has also come, and what language they use!”

During the debate on the Bill, at least three MPs complained about swearing on streaming services, even though all ‘curated content publishers’ such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Hotstar provide graded age ratings to warn parents of content unsuitable for minors since the Information Technology Rules, 2021 were passed.