Veteran Tamil filmmaker P. Bharathiraja. , Photo courtesy: The Hindu

Veteran Tamil filmmaker P. Bharathiraja, in a letter in February, had warned the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) should not appoint politically affiliated people to its advisory panel. Mr. Bharathiraja was writing to the ministry in his capacity as president of the Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA).

In the letter received by hinduMr. Bharathiraja said, “We recommend that in order to maintain the neutrality and impartiality of the Board, one member of the Advisory Panel [both in examining committee and revising committee] Should not be associated with any political party, directly or indirectly, because otherwise it is bringing bias during the certification process.

He further said, “The board member appointed should be a neutral person, eminent and known for his achievements in writing, film making, film production or any significant field of film production, literature or art. Businessmen or persons with political affiliations should be avoided as members.

Responding to a proposal in the draft Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024 that applicants should not be included when the Censor Board panel is watching a film, Mr. Bharathiraja said it would “completely disrupt the entire process of film certification.” will affect” and stressed that filmmakers should be allowed to discuss changes with the panel immediately after the screening.

instant censorship

The TFAPA letter also opposed the proposal for an accelerated film certification program of three working days, arguing that CBFC regional offices were “functioning in a professional manner” and that the “examination process” of producers submitting their work for consideration was a Were being completed within weeks”. If such an instant censorship scheme is implemented, its cost should not be double, but triple, the normal fee, Mr. Bharathiraja said.

TFAPA said that certification processes for films dubbed in multiple languages ​​should be completed quickly, rather than requiring producers to wait repeatedly for dubbed versions of a film.