The functioning of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has come into sharp focus even as Homebound is nominated for Oscar. The film reportedly encountered multiple hurdles at home.
A national newspaper has highlighted that the cuts led to filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s name being omitted from the first round of promotional material. His credit was restored three days later on updated posters.
It has emerged that the film, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, waited nearly three months for a CBFC screening.
Following what was described as a “very hostile” process, the board allegedly asked for several caste-related references to be altered or removed.
The report, citing a CBFC source, said that the Revising Committee (RC) session was chaired by TS Nagabharana. He was reportedly brought in from Bengaluru to oversee the screening, despite several board members based in Mumbai.
Nagabharana strongly criticised the director during the session to justify the changes imposed, the report added.
Nagabharana reportedly said he did not know whether local CBFC members were available, and maintained that as a member, he was allowed to be on any RC panel anywhere in India.
Super censorship
The Homebound case is only one of several instances that filmmakers say point to a deeper crisis within the CBFC. The board, a statutory body under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, has come under criticism for functioning in a way that some insiders describe as a form of “super censorship.”
Several board members alleged that only a small group is involved in key decision-making, particularly in heading RC panels.
Filmmakers and board members said the board has not held a quarterly meeting since August 31, 2019, despite such meetings being mandated under the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024.
The news report has highlighted that the last annual report published on the CBFC’s website dates back to 2016–17. The board itself was last reconstituted on August 1, 2017, for three years or until further orders, a period that officially ended in 2020, with no notification of extensions since.
‘Sanskaar raaj’
It’s said that the CBFC identity card had expired and was never renewed, and that there had been no board meetings, no annual reports, no work for most members, and no appellate authority for filmmakers.
Asked about these concerns, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting told the media outlet that the board had been functioning in accordance with the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 and 2024.
Regarding the lack of board meetings since 2019, one spokesperson cited the CBFC’s online certification system, e-cinepramaan, launched in 2017, which they said had enabled fully online certification and payments with a focus on transparency and ease of doing business.
What’s critical in the report is one filmmaker described the board’s approach to Homebound as destructive. He said the film had been “destroyed in parts.”
Prasoon Joshi, the decorated lyricist, writer, and marketer, is the current chairperson of CBFC. He was appointed in 2017.
A CBFC member said that Joshi’s method of censorship could not always be explained through ideological lenses. It makes it difficult to understand the extent of his unchecked authority.
The member recalled having high expectations from Joshi when he succeeded Pahlaj Nihalani in 2017. They said they had believed the ‘sanskaar raaj’ had ended with Nihalani’s removal but pointed out that it was Joshi’s board which changed the title of Padmavati to Padmavat in 2018.
The report recalled his views in a certain context: four years ago, he said that censorship was no longer in use, and that the CBFC had mostly been working on certification. Filmmakers, he opined, voluntarily offered to make changes in most cases.
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