Arun Jaitley assures ‘radical changes’ in film certification, objects to the word ‘censorship’

A day after the Bombay High Court slammed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for ordering ‘obnoxious’ cuts in the upcoming Hindi film, Udta Punjab, Arun Jaitley, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, has ignited another ray of hope on the issue surrounding film censorship. 

Speaking on the first part of the report submitted by the committee appointed by Shyam Benegal, Jaitley reportedly said that the same is under consideration and they will announce some ‘radical changes’ in film censorship in the next few days.

The I & B Minister also echoed the popular sentiment of people from the film fraternity that the word ‘censorship’ should be done away with and the CBFC’s job should only be to certify films. 

However, Jaitley also hinted at playing down the controversy by stating that almost every film gets a clearance from the tribunal, with or without cuts, even if it lands in trouble initially. 

Coming to the issue faced by Udta Punjab, the Bombay High Court is expected to make a hearing into the case today. But it is still not confirmed whether the Abhishek Chaubey directed film will see the light of day on the scheduled release date of 17 June. 

Click to read more about Bombay High Court's comments on the cuts proposed by CBFC.