What is Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023 and how will it curb film piracy? | Explained

The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill  was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday, July 31. This comes days after the Rajya Sabha passed it on Thursday. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill proposes strict laws that make piracy punishable by a jail sentence and a fine. Additionally, it introduces new age certification rules for films and separate certification for films shown on television and in other media. The amendment also affirms that the Centre cannot use revisionary powers on films that have previously received CBFC certification. 

The original Cinematograph act of 1954 had mandated  certification before films could be shown to the public. Years later, it required some additions and improvisations, for which the Amendment Bill was first introduced in February 2019. When it did not get approved in the Rajya Sabha, the second draft was put out by the Centre in June 2021. The film industry protested the provision that permitted the Centre to ask the CBFC to re-examine films that had already been certified for display.

The Ministry arranged conferences with different stakeholders and created a new draft in response to worries about "super censor" from the industry. The Union Cabinet approved the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in April of this year, and it was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on July 20. Here are the three amendments added to the Cinematograph Act, 1952. 

Strong provisions to curb piracy

The bill suggests adding additional provisions to the Cinematograph Act that would outlaw both the screening of films and their unlawful recording (sections 6AA and 6AB). Additionally, according to Provision 6AA, no portion of the movie may be recorded for use on a single device. The proposed law would make piracy a criminal violation punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to ten lakh rupees, or both.

(Piracy is punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to ten lakh rupees, or both | Image: Shutterstock)

The bill states, "If any person contravenes the provisions of section 6AA or section 6AB, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months, but may extend to three years and with a fine which shall not be less than three lakh rupees but may extend to five per cent of the audited gross production cost." 

Additional age-related certification introduced

When the original act went into operation in 1952, there were only two types of certificates: "U" (for unrestricted public display) and "A" (for adult audiences exclusively). Two new categories, 'U/A' (unrestricted public display subject to parental supervision for children under 12 years of age) and 'S' (restricted to specialised audiences such as doctors or scientists) were added in 1983.

The amendment adds three additional age ratings in the 'U/A' category: U/A 7+ for those over seven, U/A 13+ for those over 13, and UA 16+ for those over 16. 

Television and OTT too will be affected

 The Bill seeks to give the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) the authority to grant films with a separate certificate for their display on television or other media.

(There were some concerns about the OTT censorship in Rajya Sabha | Image: Shutterstock)

The Rajya Sabha debate on the Bill included discussion on the need to regulate material on OTT platforms. A BJP minister questioned the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on OTT content rules. The Union Minister replied that the guidelines for such platforms fall under the ambit of the Code of Ethics under the IT Act. The platforms have self-regulatory powers. However, he recently had a meeting with OTT operators to address the self-regulation problem.