Archive · 19 Sep 2026
Revised CBFC Film Guidelines Spark Debate Over Censorship
India has issued updated rules for checking films before they are shown publicly.
The rules say films should not promote communal, anti-scientific or anti-national ideas.
They also say films should not harm India’s friendly relationships with other countries.
Many people online are worried that these rules could let officials remove too much from movies.
Some critics think the rules may be used unfairly against films that the government dislikes.
Others focus on the difference between certifying a film and censoring its scenes.
People also connected the rules to Salman Khan’s upcoming film Matrubhoomi.
However, there was no reported official decision about that film.
The debate is about how to balance creative freedom with limits on publicly shown films.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued revised film-certification guidelines on September 16 under Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act.
The guidelines address content described as communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific or anti-national, along with portrayals affecting friendly relations with foreign states.
The changes have prompted online criticism over whether the Central Board of Film Certification is expanding from certification into censorship.
Some users alleged the rules could be applied selectively or with political bias, while others defended the need for regulatory limits.
Social-media speculation connected the changes to Salman Khan’s upcoming film Matrubhoomi, but no official CBFC decision on that film was reported.
- Who
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Central Board of Film Certification, filmmakers and audiences.
- What
- Revised guidelines for film certification have triggered debate over censorship, creative freedom and possible selective enforcement.
- When
- The revised guidelines were issued on September 16; the articles do not specify the year.
- Where
- India, under the country’s film-certification system.
- Why
- The guidelines set limits on certain forms of content, while critics fear they may expand the CBFC’s role or be applied selectively.
Critics of the revised guidelines
Regulatory rationale
Certification versus censorship
Critics of the revised guidelines
Critics argue that the Central Board of Film Certification should certify films rather than decide which scenes must be removed, and some describe the changes as censorship.
Regulatory rationale
The guidelines are presented as a certification framework operating under the Cinematograph Act’s statutory limits on content and public exhibition.
Application of the rules
Critics of the revised guidelines
Some users fear the rules will be applied selectively, with propaganda films treated differently from films officials do not want audiences to see.
Regulatory rationale
The articles do not report an official response addressing those allegations, but the framework identifies content and national interests that certification authorities must consider.
Creative freedom and public limits
Critics of the revised guidelines
Critics say the rules could restrict filmmakers and documentary makers, with some advocating uncensored releases on platforms beyond government control.
Regulatory rationale
The guidelines seek to prevent content viewed as communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific or anti-national and content that could strain friendly relations with foreign states.
- Issuing authority
- Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
- Film-certification body
- Central Board of Film Certification
- Legal basis
- Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act
- Issued
- September 16
- Covered content
- Communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific and anti-national attitudes
- Foreign-relations provision
- Films should not strain India’s friendly relations with foreign states
- Public exhibition
- Films intended for public exhibition in India require CBFC certification