A few days ago, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has introduced a new draft named Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which seeks to penalize film piracy with a jail term and fine, introduce age-based certification, and empower the central government to order recertification of an already certified film following receipt of complaints.
The I&B ministry had sought public opinion and comments on the proposed amendments. The bill received a lot of criticism from many actors and filmmakers as an attempt to thwart “freedom of expression and creativity” in addition to “harassment”.
Producers Guild of India (PGI), Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC), Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA), the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), filmmaker Kamal Haasan, Tamil actor-producer Suriya, Anurag Kashyap, Farhan Akhtar, Hansal Mehta, Shabana Azmi have united against the draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
President of FWICE, B N Tiwari said, “Once a film is released and someone raises an objection, it often comes as a huge setback to the producer. If the film’s screening is stalled, it is certified once again and then re-released, it would find it difficult to draw an audience. Re-releases never work.”
Calling it as “harassment”, he further added, “it would impact workers of the entertainment industry — such a rule would lead to harassment of producers.”
More than 1,400 filmmakers have signed against the proposed amendments and also requested for support from other filmmakers and organizations as well.
Click on the link below to read the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021.