The Centre has reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), naming an 18-member panel that pulls together prominent figures from cinema, television, music and theatre.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced the new board on September 16. Members will serve a three-year term or until further orders.
Actors Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Pallavi Joshi, Roopali Ganguly and Suniel Shetty are on the panel, alongside filmmaker Priyadarshan and three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej. Also included are filmmaker Neela Madhab Panda, actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, filmmaker-actor Manoj Joshi, singer Hansraj Hans, writer Yatindra Mishra and theatre director Waman Kendre.
Who are the prominent names on the new CBFC board?
Preity Zinta, known for films including Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Veer-Zaara, returns to a formal institutional role in the film sector.
Pankaj Tripathi, one of the industry’s prominent character actors, is another major addition. His credits include Stree, Newton, Mimi and the Mirzapur franchise.
The panel also includes filmmaker Priyadarshan, known for Hindi and Malayalam cinema, along with musician Ricky Kej, who has won three Grammy Awards.
Television actor Roopali Ganguly, filmmaker Pallavi Joshi, actors Suniel Shetty, Manoj Joshi and Prosenjit Chatterjee further broaden the industry’s representation on the board.
What CBFC does?
The CBFC is India’s statutory film-certification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Its role is to examine films intended for public exhibition and certify them under the applicable laws and guidelines.
The reshuffle comes as the certification process draws continued scrutiny. A recent CBFC meeting saw members question the composition and transparency of Revising Committees that review films. The board will operate under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, carrying out the CBFC’s statutory certification functions.
The new board’s three-year tenure will therefore place its members at the centre of decisions concerning the certification of films released during the period.
Full list of 18 CBFC members
Vinod Anupam
Manoj Joshi
Abhishek Jain
Ricky Kej
Priyadarshan
Suniel Shetty
Hansraj Hans
Supriya Yarlagadda
Yatindra Mishra
Roopali Ganguly
Preity Zinta
Neela Madhab Panda
Pankaj Tripathi
Prosenjit Chatterjee
Pallavi Joshi
Nishigandha Wad
Waman Kendre
Ramesh Patange
The official notification confirms that the board has been constituted with immediate effect for three years or until further orders.
The government has not described the appointments as a change in the CBFC’s statutory role. Rather, the new panel will operate within the existing film-certification framework under the Cinematograph Act and the 2024 certification rules.
