India reconstitutes its film certification board after six years
Preity Zinta, Suniel Shetty, Pankaj Tripathi, Priyadarshan and Ricky Kej are among the eighteen members appointed for a three-year term under chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
The government has reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification, naming eighteen members for a three-year term, more than six years after the previous panel's term expired.
The board is the body that certifies films for release in India. The panel it replaces was constituted in August 2017 and stayed on long past the three years it was given, because no successors were named; its term had run out in 2020.
The eighteen
The members are Vinod Anupam, Manoj Joshi, Abhishek Jain, Ricky Kej, Priyadarshan, Suniel Shetty, Hans Raj Hans, Supriya Yarlagadda, Yatindra Mishra, Roopali Ganguly, Preity Zinta, Nila Madhab Panda, Pankaj Tripathi, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Pallavi Joshi, Nishigandha Wad, Waman Kendre and Ramesh Patange.
Shashi Shekhar Vempati continues as chairperson.
Where they come from
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which announced the appointments on September 16, drew the panel from cinema, television, music, theatre and literature.
Eight are actors: Pankaj Tripathi, Preity Zinta, Suniel Shetty, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Roopali Ganguly, Pallavi Joshi, Manoj Joshi and Nishigandha Wad. Five come from film-making and theatre: Priyadarshan, Nila Madhab Panda, Abhishek Jain, Supriya Yarlagadda and the theatre director Waman Kendre.
The rest come from music, writing and criticism. Ricky Kej has won three Grammy awards. Hans Raj Hans is a Punjabi singer and a Padma Shri recipient. Yatindra Mishra is an author, poet and music scholar, Vinod Anupam a film critic and author, and Ramesh Patange a writer.
Kendre and Patange are the only two carried over from the outgoing board.
What the order says
The appointment is made under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, read with Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024. It takes effect immediately and runs for three years or until further orders, whichever comes first.
That last phrase is the one that allowed the outgoing panel to continue.
The chair
Vempati was appointed separately. A ministry notification on May 6 this year made him chairperson for three years from the date he joined, succeeding Prasoon Joshi. The announcement said he brings "extensive experience in media, broadcasting, and public communication" to the job.
What did and did not stop
Certification did not pause during the six years the board went un-reconstituted: the members appointed in 2017 stayed in place while successors were not named, which is why the gap is an administrative one rather than a break in the work.
What this order changes is who sits on the board. The rules the board works under are not altered by it.
Sources
- Business Today — Business Today Desk, 16 Sep 2026. The reconstitution under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, effective immediately for three years or until further orders; chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati; the full list of eighteen members; Waman Kendre and Ramesh Patange retained; the previous board constituted in August 2017 and continuing beyond its three-year mandate.
- The Free Press Journal — Deeksha Pandey, updated 16 Sep 2026 10.06pm IST. The same eighteen names and chairperson; the appointment under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 read with Rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024; the previous panel’s three-year tenure expiring in 2020 with members continuing pending successors; the gap of more than six years.
- ETV Bharat — ETV Bharat Entertainment Team, 17 Sep 2026. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announcing the appointments on 16 September; the panel drawn from cinema, television, music, theatre and literature; the professions of each member -- eight actors, the film-makers and theatre director, Ricky Kej as a three-time Grammy winner, Hans Raj Hans as a Padma Shri Punjabi singer, Yatindra Mishra as author, poet and music scholar, Vinod Anupam as film critic and author.
- Akashvani News (newsonair.gov.in) — 6 May 2026. Shashi Shekhar Vempati appointed CBFC chairperson by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for three years from the date of joining, succeeding Prasoon Joshi; the extensive experience in media, broadcasting, and public communication quotation.
