For something as closely watched as a film certificate, the rules behind it can often remain out of sight. That is changing now.
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has revised its film certification guidelines after nearly 35 years, updating a framework that dates back to 1991. The changes put a sharper focus on social values, public safety, national interests and the way certain sensitive subjects are portrayed on screen.
But this is not simply a matter of adding a few new rules. The revised guidelines offer a glimpse into what the certification process is expected to consider when a film reaches the screening table.
A Stronger Emphasis On Social Values
The new guidelines say films should be “responsible and sensitive to the values and standards of society.” Along with this, greater emphasis has been placed on social values, national interests and public safety.
The framework specifically bars content that promotes a “communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific or anti-national attitude.” It also cautions against material that could strain India’s friendly relations with foreign states.
Another consideration is public sentiment. The guidelines ask the CBFC to be mindful of content that could hurt people's sentiments or sensibilities.
For filmmakers, this means that questions around how a subject is presented can matter just as much as the subject itself.
Drug Scenes Will Now Carry a Warning
One of the clearest changes concerns the depiction of narcotic and psychotropic substances.
Scenes showing the consumption or trafficking of such substances must now carry a specific warning:
“Illicit Narcotics Destroy Health and Guarantee Imprisonment. Say No to Drugs.”
The focus is not simply on whether drugs appear in a film, but on ensuring that their depiction does not become a form of encouragement or normalisation.
A More Specific Certification System
The revised framework provides for U, UA, UA 7+, UA 13+, UA 16+ and a certificates.
The age-specific UA categories are intended to give parents a clearer idea of whether younger viewers can watch a film with parental guidance. Instead of treating all UA-certified films in the same way, the age markers provide a more specific indication of suitability.
For audiences, that could make the certificate at the beginning of a film a little more informative than simply seeing a familiar “UA” label.
What about Violence, Obscenity and National Security?
The revision does not mean that the CBFC has abandoned the principles that have traditionally governed film certification.
Issues such as violence, obscenity, sexual content, communal themes, national security, public order and the portrayal of crime and anti-social activities continue to form part of the certification framework.
The larger change is that these long-standing considerations now sit within an updated set of guidelines designed for a very different media environment from the one in which the previous framework was introduced.
Critics have raised concerns that the broader provisions could lead to excessive filtering and potentially limit filmmakers’ creative freedom, particularly in genres such as action and adult comedy.The debate, therefore, is not only about what audiences should be protected from, but also about where certification ends and creative expression begins.
A New-Look CBFC Board
The guideline revision also comes alongside the reconstitution of the CBFC board.
Shashi Shekhar Vempati continues as the CBFC chairperson. The new board brings together actors, filmmakers, musicians, writers and theatre personalities, including Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Pallavi Joshi, and Priyadarshan.
Why the 35-year Gap Matters
The biggest significance of the revision is perhaps the fact that the detailed guidelines have finally been updated after nearly three-and-a-half decades.
Cinema has changed dramatically since 1991. The subjects films tackle, the way stories are told and the expectations of audiences have all evolved. Streaming platforms and changing viewing habits have also transformed the wider screen landscape.
The revised guidelines attempt to bring the certification framework into this newer reality while retaining many of the principles that have long governed what can appear on the big screen.
For filmmakers, the changes mean paying closer attention to sensitive themes, drug-related imagery and even the language used in a film's title. For audiences, the updated certification categories offer more specific information about age suitability.
In the end, the revision is less about rewriting the rulebook from scratch and more about updating a 35-year-old framework for the way cinema is made and watched today.