The controversy and debate following how much say Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) should have in the final version of the film is still ongoing. Many filmmakers and actors have already expressed their opinion. The recent in the list is a veteran actor, Shabana Azmi.
Shabana Azmi expressed her opinion on this issue and said that this whole certification system needs a restructuring. She believes that filmmakers, not the censor board, should decide whether any scenes get the cut or not.
Interacting with media during the Delhi premiere of her latest film, The Black Prince, Shabana was all for overhauling the current system, in which the CBFC has the power to demand cuts in a film before certifying it. “It’s so wrong to call the CBFC the Censor Board in the first place. It is here to certify films; censoring any scene is not its prerogative,” says the actor.
Her reply comes in the context of being asked if she would ever take charge of the Censor Board, as her industry colleagues Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore and Anupam Kher have done.
The 66-year-old Shabana, who has always been vocal on the issue of censorship, asserts, “The fact is that the Cinematograph Act of 1952 needs serious revision, and we have to leave it to the filmmakers to decide whether they are open to any cuts in the film or not.”
Shabana further said referring to Shyam Bengal Committee which in its 2016 report recommended fairly drastic changes in how the CBFC works. She said censorship or certifying things need to change.
Drawing comparisons with the Western film industry, Shabana says that the CBFC needs to adopt the American system for film certification and move away from the current British ideology that is being followed.
