Preity Zinta, Priyadarshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty join reconstituted CBFC

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has been reconstituted with 18 members, including actors Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi and Suniel Shetty, filmmaker Priyadarshan and Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced the new board on Wednesday, September 16. The members will serve for three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

The panel brings together professionals from cinema, television, music, literature and theatre. Other members include actors Manoj Joshi, Roopali Ganguly, Pallavi Joshi, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Nishigandha Wad; filmmakers Abhishek Jain and Neela Madhab Panda; producer Supriya Yarlagadda; singer Hansraj Hans; poet and writer Yatindra Mishra; film critic Vinod Anupam; theatre personality Waman Kendre; and writer Ramesh Patange.

According to ANI, Kendre and Patange are the only two members of the previous board retained in the newly constituted panel. The CBFC was last formally reconstituted in August 2017, with members continuing beyond their original terms until successors were appointed.

The new board will function under CBFC chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati, according to reports.

What is the CBFC?

The Central Board of Film Certification is India’s statutory film-certification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It examines films intended for public exhibition and grants certification under the country’s film-certification laws and guidelines.

The latest reconstitution has been carried out under Section 3 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, read with Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024.

The appointment brings prominent figures from India’s entertainment and creative industries into the country’s film-certification framework.