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The Centre on Wednesday reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) more than six years after the three-year tenure of its previous panel ended, appointing actors Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty, Pallavi Joshi and Prosenjit Chatterjee, along with Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej, among others.
The new 18-member board, headed by CBFC chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati, has been constituted with immediate effect for three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The reconstitution comes weeks after the CBFC held its first board meeting in six years on August 29. Under the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, the board is required to meet at least once every quarter.
The new panel also includes filmmaker Priyadarshan, film critic Vinod Anupam, actor Manoj Joshi, filmmaker Abhishek Jain, singer and former parliamentarian Hans Raj Hans, producer Supriya Yarlagadda, poet and writer Yatindra Mishra, actor Roopali Ganguly, filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda and actor Nishigandha Wad.
Theatre director Waman Kendre and writer and RSS pracharak Ramesh Patange are the only two members of the previous board to have been retained.
The CBFC was last reconstituted on August 11, 2017, for a three-year term that ran until 2020. Members continued beyond their stipulated tenure as provisions allowed them to remain in office until their successors were appointed.
The prolonged continuation of the board was also raised in Parliament earlier this year. The government said that under Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, members hold office during the pleasure of the Centre for a period not exceeding three years, but continue until a new member is appointed in their place.
The outgoing board included actor Vidya Balan, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, playwright Mihir Bhuta, actor Gautami Tadimalla, Vani Tripathi Tikoo, actor Jeevitha Rajasekhar, filmmaker T S Nagabharana and filmmaker Naresh Chandra Lal, besides Kendre and Patange.
Several members of the new panel have links to the BJP or the broader Sangh Parivar. Ganguly joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while Hans is a BJP leader who represented North West Delhi in the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024.
Patange, one of the two members retained from the previous board, is an RSS pracharak and author of Why Are We in the RSS...?, which carries a foreword by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Pallavi Joshi is the wife of Agnihotri and was among the producers and cast members of The Kashmir Files, directed by him.
Priyadarshan has worked extensively in Malayalam and Hindi cinema, while Panda is known for films including I Am Kalam. Jain is associated primarily with Gujarati cinema.
Kej is a three-time Grammy Award-winning music composer and environmentalist, while Hans is a noted Punjabi singer. Chatterjee is a prominent name in Bengali cinema, while Manoj Joshi has worked across film, television and theatre.
Kendre, a Padma Shri recipient, is a theatre director and former director of the National School of Drama. Mishra is a Hindi poet, writer and music scholar, while Yarlagadda is associated with the Telugu film industry as a producer.
The reconstitution has been carried out under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, read with Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024.
Vempati, a former chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati, was appointed CBFC chairperson in May for a three-year term after lyricist Prasoon Joshi stepped down following his appointment as chairman of Prasar Bharati.
The CBFC is a statutory body under the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry responsible for certifying films for public exhibition in India.
The new 18-member board, headed by CBFC chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati, has been constituted with immediate effect for three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The reconstitution comes weeks after the CBFC held its first board meeting in six years on August 29. Under the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, the board is required to meet at least once every quarter.
The new panel also includes filmmaker Priyadarshan, film critic Vinod Anupam, actor Manoj Joshi, filmmaker Abhishek Jain, singer and former parliamentarian Hans Raj Hans, producer Supriya Yarlagadda, poet and writer Yatindra Mishra, actor Roopali Ganguly, filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda and actor Nishigandha Wad.
Government
of India reconstitutes the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board). New names include Preity Zinta, Pallavi Joshi, Ricky Kej, Priyadarshan, Hansraj Hans, Pankaj Tripathi and Prosenjit Chatterjee. pic.twitter.com/lofcmOCsFo
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 16, 2026
Theatre director Waman Kendre and writer and RSS pracharak Ramesh Patange are the only two members of the previous board to have been retained.
The CBFC was last reconstituted on August 11, 2017, for a three-year term that ran until 2020. Members continued beyond their stipulated tenure as provisions allowed them to remain in office until their successors were appointed.
The prolonged continuation of the board was also raised in Parliament earlier this year. The government said that under Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, members hold office during the pleasure of the Centre for a period not exceeding three years, but continue until a new member is appointed in their place.
The outgoing board included actor Vidya Balan, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, playwright Mihir Bhuta, actor Gautami Tadimalla, Vani Tripathi Tikoo, actor Jeevitha Rajasekhar, filmmaker T S Nagabharana and filmmaker Naresh Chandra Lal, besides Kendre and Patange.
Several members of the new panel have links to the BJP or the broader Sangh Parivar. Ganguly joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while Hans is a BJP leader who represented North West Delhi in the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024.
Patange, one of the two members retained from the previous board, is an RSS pracharak and author of Why Are We in the RSS...?, which carries a foreword by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Pallavi Joshi is the wife of Agnihotri and was among the producers and cast members of The Kashmir Files, directed by him.
Priyadarshan has worked extensively in Malayalam and Hindi cinema, while Panda is known for films including I Am Kalam. Jain is associated primarily with Gujarati cinema.
Kej is a three-time Grammy Award-winning music composer and environmentalist, while Hans is a noted Punjabi singer. Chatterjee is a prominent name in Bengali cinema, while Manoj Joshi has worked across film, television and theatre.
Kendre, a Padma Shri recipient, is a theatre director and former director of the National School of Drama. Mishra is a Hindi poet, writer and music scholar, while Yarlagadda is associated with the Telugu film industry as a producer.
The reconstitution has been carried out under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, read with Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024.
Vempati, a former chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati, was appointed CBFC chairperson in May for a three-year term after lyricist Prasoon Joshi stepped down following his appointment as chairman of Prasar Bharati.
The CBFC is a statutory body under the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry responsible for certifying films for public exhibition in India.
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