The Union government has released a fresh list of members appointed to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The 18-member panel will function under CBFC chairperson Sasi Shekhar Vempati.
Among those appointed are actor Preity Zinta, actors Suniel Shetty and Pankaj Tripathi, Malayalam filmmaker Priyadarshan, composer Ricky Kej, and Telugu film producer Supriya Yarlagadda.
The announcement has triggered debate over the absence of any representative from Tamil Nadu. Commentators point out that Tamil Nadu is a major hub of film production in India, and argue that the state’s film industry should have had a presence in the panel.
The CBFC appointments are made by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In Delhi Tamil circles, the lack of representation has been described as particularly disappointing given that the ministry has a Tamil-speaking Union minister of state, L. Murugan.
Questions have also been raised about why Tamil Nadu is being overlooked in film certification bodies at a time when the state is led by a chief minister with a film background.
