Centre Reconstitutes CBFC; Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi Among 18 Members

Actors Preity Zinta and Pankaj Tripathi are among the prominent film personalities appointed to the newly reconstituted 18-member Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Suniel Shetty, Prosenjit Chatterjee, filmmaker Priyadarshan and Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej also join the new board headed by CBFC Chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati

Key Highlights

• Centre reconstitutes the 18-member Central Board of Film Certification.
• Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty and Prosenjit Chatterjee join the panel.
• Filmmaker Priyadarshan and Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej are also among the members.
• The board is headed by CBFC Chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
• The reconstituted board takes effect immediately and has a tenure of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• Waman Kendre and Ramesh Patange are the two members retained from the previous board.

New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), bringing several prominent names from Indian cinema, music, literature and the performing arts onto the 18-member board.

Actors Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty and Prosenjit Chatterjee, filmmaker Priyadarshan and Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej are among those appointed to the reconstituted board.

The new board, headed by CBFC Chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati, has been constituted with immediate effect for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Contemporary reporting on the September 16 announcement also confirms the reconstitution and Vempati’s position as chairperson.

Film, Music and Theatre Personalities Join Board

The new panel also includes film critic Vinod Anupam, actor Manoj Joshi, filmmaker Abhishek Jain, singer and former parliamentarian Hans Raj Hans, producer Supriya Yarlagadda, poet and writer Yatindra Mishra and actor Roopali Ganguly.

Theatre director Waman Kendre and writer Ramesh Patange are the only two members from the previous board to have been retained in the newly constituted panel.

The CBFC was last reconstituted in August 2017 for a three-year term. Members of that board continued beyond 2020 in the absence of a fresh reconstitution under provisions allowing them to remain in office until their successors were appointed.

The reconstitution brings a wide range of creative professionals into the statutory body responsible for certifying films for public exhibition in India.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting describes the CBFC as a statutory body functioning under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after receiving certification from the Board.