Explained | The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill’s proposal to check piracy of films, revamp age-based certification Premium

The Hindu explains provisions of the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and how it proposes to check piracy.

The story so far: The Rajya Sabha on Thursday cleared the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 that introduces new age-based certification for films, separate certification for the exhibition of films on television and “other media,” and provides for stringent provisions to penalise piracy with a jail term and fine.

The draft legislation has come a long way from the first version of the Bill was tabled in the Upper House in February 2019. In its present form, the Bill seeks to amend the Cinematograph Act, 1952 which empowers the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to make cuts in films and clear them for exhibition in cinemas. It was introduced in Rajya Sabha by Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur last week. 

The Bill also formalises the Supreme Court ruling in K.M. Shankarappa vs. Union of India, which states that the Centre cannot exercise revisional powers on films already certified by the CBFC. “The proposed amendments would make the certification process more effective, in tune with the present times, and comprehensively curb the menace of film piracy, and thus help in faster growth of the film industry and boost job creation in the sector,” reads the text of the Bill.

Also Read | I&B Minister Anurag Thakur demands explanation from CBFC over clearance to Oppenheimer

The changes to the Cinematograph Act have been in the offing for a long time, with the film industry demanding the Centre enact a law to control unauthorised recording. In 2013, a controversy erupted over Tamil Nadu’s ban on the screening of actor-director Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam movie. This prompted the then I&B Minister Manish Tewari to constitute an expert commission under the chairmanship of Justice Mukul Mudgal to examine the 1952 Act and issues related to certification. The committee proposed a model Bill and made recommendations on guidelines for certification, classification of films and issues such as portrayal of women, obscenity and communal disharmony, among others. .

Another panel was set up in 2016 to examine the rules of certification and lay a broad framework after reviewing best practices across the world. The committee, headed by filmmaker Shyam Benegal, recommended the expansion of age ratings. It said the censor board must function purely as a certification body and not engage in imposing excisions or changes to a film.

The first version of this bill emerged in February 2019 when the then Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore tabled the draft in Rajya Sabha. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 proposed penal provisions to tackle offences related to piracy with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh, or both. It, however, did not take into account panel recommendations on age-based categorisation of certification. The Bill was referred to a Standing Committee on Information Technology. In its March 2020 report, the committee, headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, called for an overhaul of the Act to address issues concerning the transformation of the information and cinematography landscape.