The Central Government has given approval to the New Cinematograph Bill, which includes some interesting changes in censor certification in addition to dealing directly with the piracy. Previously, only three categories existed when it came to film certification. Which means unrestricted public exhibition, ‘U/A’ with parental accompaniment for children under 12 years old and ‘A’ for adults only.
Briefing reporters on the decisions of the Union Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the bill will be introduced in the upcoming session of Parliament. He said there were demands from various stakeholders to act to curb piracy, on age-based film classification and certain redundant provisions in the existing Act.
The bill permits the inclusion of more categories. They are ‘U’ which means universal, ‘U/A’ 7+, ‘U/A’ 13+, ‘U/A’ 16+ and ‘A’ which is only for adults who are above 18 years. This Sub-categorization has been introduced in the new bill for certification purposes and will be used predominately in restricting the OTT content as well.
Moreover, it is trying to eradicate piracy with the new bill as committing to such a crime will now lead to a fine of 3 lakhs, and it may extend to 5% of the audited gross production cost of the movie. It also indicates that the guilty party will face a prison sentence ranging from three months to three years. Let’s hope that this move from the government largely controls piracy and provides some respite for filmmakers who spend crores of the budget for each film.
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