The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021 is stirring up the film fraternity in India. Among other things, it seeks to empower the government to sidestep the Central Board of Film Certification and become a "super censor" that can re-examine film certifications if there are any complaints against them, even after they have already been passed by the CBFC.

The government released the draft Bill on 18 June into the public domain with this new contentious provision, and a few other proposals on age reclassification for viewers and film piracy. The general public has been given two weeks' time till Friday, 2 July, to submit their comments.

A group of people have already shot off a letter to the government saying that “the amendments giving powers to the central government to revoke a film certificate must be dropped". Celebrities like Kamal Hassan and Vishal Bhardwaj have also vocally criticised the move on social media platforms and urged people to raise their voices against it.

But why does the government want to be the super censor? What is the intention behind this move? And what do people from the film industry have to say about it?Tune in!

Producer and Host: Shorbori Purkayastha
Guests:
Sanjay Gupta, Filmmaker, Producer and Screenwriter 
Mayank Tewari, Screenwriter 
Karan Tripathi, Legal Consultant, The Quint

Editor: Shelly Walia

References:

Music: Big Bang Fuzz

Listen to The Big Story podcast on:

Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl

Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C

Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ

Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng