Benegal panel on censor board gets extension

New Delhi, March 20: The Shyam Benegal-led panel formed by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to look into the overall functioning of the Censor Board has been given an extension and will now submit its report by the end of April this year.

The committee had been constituted by the I&B ministry on January 1 and was asked to submit its report by the end of February. Speaking to media, Benegal said the I&B ministry has given an extension to the panel after it sought more time to analyse in-depth the feedback it had received from various stakeholders and come out with a thorough report.

"The committee will now submit the report by April end," he said. The committee had been constituted by the I&B ministry to provide a framework for film certification and for a holistic interpretation of the provisions of the Cinematograph Act and Rules.

The panel was formed against the backdrop of a string of controversies related to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) under the stewardship of its current chairman Pahlaj Nihalani. A few days before the panel was constituted, I&B Minister Arun Jaitley had said he felt a time had come to have a look at the role of the CBFC which needs to be "controversy-free".

Apart from Benegal, the committee includes actor Kamal Haasan, filmmakers Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Gautam Ghose, adman Piyush Pandey, film critic Bhawana Somaaya and some officials.

PTI