The Central Board of Film Certification recently inaugurated their swanky new office in the Films Division office in South Mumbai. While the ceremony was attended by the creme de la creme of the Indian film industry, it looks like the board forgot to invite its own members. As revealed by the board member Ashoke Pandit the invitation for the puja was only extended after the members spoke about the issue.
When asked the Censor chief, Pahlaj Nihalani about the same he said, "The Censor Board has 175 members, so it's difficult to send an invite to everyone. And if they are members, why do they need an invitation? The whole function was held essentially for the stakeholders -- that is producers and directors -- to inform them how the certification process can now be carried out online, without any hassles."
Replying to the complaints, Nihalani added, "Those members who are complaining have not participated in the administrative function of the CBFC and have not even visited the old office, which has been there since 1952. For example, when they are called to be a part of the panel of the Review Committee of a film, they don't come. So, why complain now?"
To the complaints that the members were not given enough notice period, Pahlaj countered them saying, "The event was put together in a span of 48 hours. We did the best we could. We got the go-ahead from the government only four days prior to the function."
Talking about the need for new space, the censor chief signed off saying, "The Mumbai office shoulders close to 50-55% of the load of certifying films on a regular basis. We certify close to 2,500 feature films and around 11,000 short films and commercials annually. We wanted a space that functioned like the passport and visa offices. Now, producers can apply for certification online. Only when there are changes do they need to come to the CBFC premises. I had appealed to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to give us a new space and they have done so."
