In April, this year, the Shyam Benegal committee report, submitted to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as part of a suggested revamp of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), had recommended increasing the number of categories of certification as an amendment of the archaic Cinematography Act of 1952.

CBFC chairman Pahlaj Nihalani also claimed that he had suggested upping the certification categories in his letter to the Ministry in February. It is time for the Ministry and Censor Board to see common ground on new categories for films, as the old U/A and UA categories may be obsolete in these times. We need to include more specific age groups — above 15 for instance, or strictly above 21 and even others, so that the filmmaker has more freedom to show what he wants. If a film’s content and message is aimed towards the 15-plus age group, it will be a pity if it gets an ‘A’ certificate and then the entire teenage demographic has no access to the film.