Film fraternity hails Cabinet's nod to Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023, says move will curb piracy

Mumbai: The government's approval to the cinematograph bill on Wednesday was welcomed by members of the Indian film fraternity who termed the decision a move towards "preserving the movie going experience" and "curbing the menace of film piracy".

Briefing reporters on the decisions of the Union Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the bill will be introduced in the upcoming session of Parliament.

He said there were demands from various stakeholders to take action to curb piracy, on age-based film classification and certain redundant provisions in the existing Act.

Hindi cinema star and filmmaker Ajay Devgn tagged Thakur on Twitter and wrote: "Kudos to the @MIB_India for proactively making amendments to the Cinematograph Act, thereby preserving the movie going experience. @ianuragthakur" In a statement shared on its official Twitter page, production house T-Series said the measure will help keep piracy in check.

"T-Series supports government's recent move with the amendment in the Cinematograph Act, 1952 to bring about improvements in curbing the menace of film piracy! This move is very effective as it will not only help in faster growth of the film industry but also boost job creation in the sector," the banner said in the statement.

Actor-director R Madhavan termed the development a "brilliant" move.

"Union Cabinet approves amendment in Cinematograph Act 1952 to comprehensively curb menace of film piracy. This is brilliant and much. I awaited and welcome to use. Wonderful proactive action. @MIB_India @ianuragthakur @Murugan_MoS #CineAct2023 #CinematographAct2023," Madhavan tweeted.

SLV Cinemas, the banner behind the Nani-starrer "Dasara", said the approval of the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023 is "great news for the Film Industry".

"Union Cabinet approves amendment in Cinematograph Act 1952 to comprehensively curb menace of film piracy. Thank you @MIB_India and Hon'ble Minister @ianuragthakur Garu for addressing the issue. @Murugan_MoS #CineAct2023 #CinematographAct2023," the production house said in a tweet.

"Extremely grateful for the initiative taken by the MIB in the effort to curb piracy. Union Cabinet approves amendment in Cinematograph Act 1952 to comprehensively curb menace of film piracy. @MIB_India @ianuragthakur @Murugan_MoS #CineAct2023 #CinematographAct2023," said Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra, production company behind "Virupaksha".

During the briefing, Thakur also said the bill has provisions to classify films on the basis of age group, instead of the current practice of "U", "A", and "UA".

"U" is for unrestricted public exhibition and "A" is restricted to adult audiences, while "UA" is for unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of 12 and "S" for special category audiences such as doctors and scientists.

It is learnt that the amendments seek to add new classification – "UA-7+", "UA-13+" and "UA-16+" in place for 12 years.

Besides improving the process to certify films by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the amendments also seek to bring about uniformity in categorisation of films and content across platforms.

A Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2019 and the new draft was based on consultations with the film industry and also incorporates the best practices from across the world, the minister said.