The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023, within days of the draft law being cleared by the Rajya Sabha. The Bill aims to curb piracy by fining and imprisoning people who record movies inside cinemas.
The Bill also expands the number of age ratings available to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which censors and clears films for public exhibition. The censorship powers of the CBFC, a contentious issue, have been retained in the Bill, which become law after it is signed by the President of India.
“The empowerment of the Indian film industry with ease of doing business and its protection from privacy, would go a long way in the growth of the content creation ecosystem in India,” Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur said.
Among provisions includes three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh, which can be extended up to three years imprisonment and a fine up to 5% of the audited gross production cost in the event of piracy.
Age-based categories of certification include sub-dividing the existing UA category into three parts: seven years (UA 7+), 13 years (UA 13+), and 16 years (UA 16+), instead of only 12 years.
Further, revisional powers of the central government with respect to films have been omitted. The Bill also formalises other practices, such as the facility to re-certify a film rated for adults (with an ‘A’ rating) for television. While TV programmes do not have to be censored by the CBFC, following court decisions it has not been permissible since 2007 for movies that have been rated ‘A’ to be telecast on TV.