CBFC to shun informal communication

KOLKATA: The CEO of Central Board of Film Certification (

CBFC

) has put to rest the speculation that under a new directive, filmmakers will now learn about the fate of their films only after the board issues the final certificate.

Earlier, members of the board would communicate their decision informally after a film was screened before an examining committee.

When

TOI

asked CBFC’s CEO

Anurag Srivastava

about the issue, he said, “The applicant will be heard. Their objections will be noted and instead of verbal communication, a written communication will follow soon thereafter. Only after the response of the applicant, certificate will be issued. At times, verbal communications were leading to some misunderstandings and thereby grievances.”

Industry insiders claim that such a step was taken because of the misunderstandings regarding certification that recently arose in case of Andres Muschietti’s film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel titled “It”. Initially, there were reports that the examining committee had recommended 12 cuts before CBFC chairman Prasoon Joshi restored them in the final stage of clearance with the exception of a minor audio-mute to grant it an A certificate.

Srivastava, however, didn’t respond when asked if this incident had triggered this new move.

Meanwhile, there has been confusion over whether or not applicants will be verbally told about the certification given before he/she writes down the objections.

When Srivastava was asked about this, he said, “It’s just that rules will be followed. That’s all.”

In recent times, there have been multiple instances of grievances. The most prominent such case in Kolkata involved Suman

Ghosh

’s documentary on Amartya Sen titled ‘The Argumentative Indian’.

After the screening of the film before the examining committee in Kolkata, there was an oral hearing. Speaking to TOI from Miami, Ghosh said, “But I had no misunderstanding because whatever I was told verbally by the Kolkata office was what was given to me in writing from the head office in Mumbai. I don’t know if other directors have had discrepancies. If that had happened, this move might be helpful.”

Around 10 days back, Ghosh received a call from the local CBFC office asking him to appear before the revising committee in Mumbai. “But I told the Kolkata office that I am currently in Miami. Seven days back, I wrote to the CEO of CBFC asking if it is possible to conduct the meeting over Skype. I am yet to receive any reply on that. If the Skype meeting isn’t possible, I will fly to Mumbai,” Ghosh said.


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