List of five Central Board of Film Certification chiefs and their tenures Pahlaj Nihalani Leela Samson Sharmila Tagore Anupam Kher Arvind Trivedi

Pahlaj Nihalani

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory censorship and classification body, which comes under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. In India, a film can only be certified for public exhibition only after CBFC’s nod. There are total seven types of certificates U - Universal, UA - Parental Guidance, A - Adult, S - Specialist and V/U, V/UA & V/A for the parts of video released from the film with specific certificate. CBFC has remained in controversies not only for distributing certificates to the films but also for the kind of censorship it imposes on films’ scenes or dialogues. Here’s a list of five chairpersons of CBFC that remained in news for one or another reason. Pahlaj Nihalani, probably the most controversial chairperson till date, was appointed as the CBFC’s head on January 21, 2015. In his short tenure, he was surrounded by many controversies. Most of the filmmakers in the industry were miffed with him for his dictatorial attitude and moral policing while clearing movies from CBFC. It is expected that renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi may take charge as the new chief of the board.

Leela Samson

Before Nihalani, it was Leela Samson who was the CBFC head. She served her term from April 1, 2011 to January 19, 2015. She resigned from the post after controversial film “Messenger of God” featuring Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in lead role had been cleared by Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT).

Sharmila Tagore

Sharmila Tagore was the CBFC chief from October 13, 2004 to March 31, 2011. She is one of the few chiefs who has served the controversial post for such a long tenure. She didn’t remain in news for any wrongdoings. However, she raised her voice against the excessive use of bikinis in Indian films.

Anupam Kher

Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee Anupam Kher served his tenure as the board’s chief from October 16, 2003 to October 13, 2004. More than a chief, he is renowned across the country for his acting skills and talent. Some of his critically acclaimed movies include ‘A Wednesday’, ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’, ‘Special 26’ and ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’.

Arvind Trivedi

‘The Ravana’ from Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayana’ Arvind Trivedi was appointed as the CBFC chief from July 20, 2002 to October 16, 2003. Apart from Ramayana, he also acted in TV series like ‘Vikram Aur Betaal’. He was elected as a Member of Parliament from Gujarat’s Sabarkatha district in 1991.