New Delhi: The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to crack down on film piracy and expand age-based certification for films, was passed in the Lok Sabha Monday.
It was cleared by the Rajya Sabha on 27 July after being introduced by the Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, on 20 July.
The Bill amends the Cinematograph Act of 1952, and essentially introduces new penalties against piracy and empowers the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to make cuts in films, clear them for exhibition, and also provide certificates which will now be valid in perpetuity.
The Bill has passed via a circuitous route, with plenty of criticism and pushback from the film industry over fears of censorship.
In its 2021 version, the Bill allowed the central government to make the CBFC re-examine films already cleared by the board — which would have allowed anyone to appeal against a film if they didn’t like it.
This was met with fierce resistance from the film industry, which was still reeling from the loss of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) — a statutory body that heard grievances from filmmakers against the CBFC’s orders.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting then held discussions with industry leaders and other stakeholders, and subsequently a new draft of the Bill was introduced in Parliament last month which has now been cleared.
Pointing out that the 110-year-old Indian film industry produces the most films in the world, Thakur told the Lok Sabha Monday that the industry had been asking to be freed from the shackles of piracy for years.
He added that the amended Cinematograph Act will help make “India’s soft power stronger”.
“India’s films will win more Oscars and awards in the future,” he said, citing the international success of films like RRR and The Elephant Whisperers. “This (Act) is a step in that direction.”
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New age certificate categories
Up until now, there were only four categories of age certificates for Indian films.
The categories of ‘U’, or unrestricted public exhibition, and ‘A’, or restricted to adult audiences, were introduced when the Cinematograph Act was passed in 1952.
Two additional categories were introduced in 1983: ‘U/A’, basically PG13 or parental guidance for those under 13, and ‘S’, or restricted to specialised audiences like scientists.
The amendments to the Act now introduce three new age ratings under U/A: U/A 7+ for children above seven years, U/A 13+ for those above 13, and UA 16+ for those above 16.
Films can also be sanctioned for “unrestricted public exhibition” if the CBFC believes parents or lawful guardians will use their discretion in allowing children and teens between the ages of 7 and 18 to watch it.
OTT platforms like Netflix will have to follow a similar age-based rating under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The catch is that while the CBFC could only certify films for 10 years — after which the certification used to be reviewed and updated — it will now provide a certificate which will be perpetually valid across India.
Crackdown on piracy
The Cinematograph Act aims to curb piracy by cracking down on the unauthorised recording and exhibition of films. The amended law now stipulates a jail term of a minimum of three months and up to three years for piracy.
Anyone guilty of piracy will also have to pay a fine of up to 5 per cent of a film’s gross production cost, but not less than Rs 3 lakh.
Section 6AA of the Act prohibits recording, helping a person record, or transmitting a copy of a film to a licensed place without the owner’s permission.
Section 6AB expands piracy to copyright, and deals with the unauthorised exhibition of films — this section essentially disallows the public exhibition of a copy of a film at a place that isn’t licensed to screen it, or if the screening infringes on the Copyright Act of 1957.
Certain exemptions under the Copyright Act will apply to these offences — like when copyrighted content is used privately, for reporting, or for a review or critique of the work.
Fears of censorship
Amendments to the Cinematograph Act have been in the works for years and been fiercely debated in Parliament over fears of censorship.
The film industry has long asked the central govt to take action against piracy. In 2013, then I&B minister Manish Tiwari set up an expert commission which submitted a report on the 1952 Act and made recommendations on guidelines related to certification and classification of films.
Another panel was set up in 2016, except this time it was headed by filmmaker Shyam Benegal. This committee’s report said that the CBFC should function purely as a certification body and not impose changes on any films.
The first version of the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, tabled in 2019 in the Rajya Sabha by then Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, proposed penal action against piracy with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of Rs 10 lakh, or both.
The draft Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Information Technology, which was then headed by MP Shashi Tharoor. The committee submitted a report in March 2020 calling for the Cinematograph Act to be updated to meet modern requirements, show news reports.
A revised version of the draft Bill was released by the central government in June 2021. This version proved controversial and led to an uproar in the film industry.
Filmmakers accused the government of being undemocratic and a “super censor” looking to curb freedom of expression. The draft followed closely on the heels of the scrapping of the FCAT in 2021, which filmmakers used as a redressal forum to appeal against what they considered unfair censorship.
In response, the government invited stakeholders and experts to give their opinion on the draft Bill, which it then took into consideration before preparing the Bill that has now been passed.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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