The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) recently introduced a fresh set of guidelines for a film to procure a certification from the body, for the first time after 35 years. The regulatory body has retained much of the existing framework while adding a specific warning for films featuring narcotics, drugs and psychotropic substances.

The new guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on September 16, largely preserve provisions pertaining to violence, obscenity, sexual violence, communal content, national security, public order and other grounds governing film certification.

Notably, the CBFC had previously issued its comprehensive guidelines in December 1991.

New warning introduced for drug-related scenes

The depiction of narcotics, drugs and psychotropic substances stands as the most significant technical addition to the September 16 guidelines.

As per the guidelines issued back in 1991, films were prohibited from portraying scenes that tended to encourage, justify or glamourise drug addiction. The latest guidelines expand and specify the provision by covering scenes depicting or involving the consumption, trafficking or use of narcotics, drugs and psychotropic substances.

After the new guidelines coming into effect, such scenes will now be required to carry the warning; “Illicit Narcotics Destroy Health and Guarantees Imprisonment. Say No to Drugs.”

The move introduces a more explicit certification requirement around the portrayal of drugs in movies while retaining the broader restrictions that were already part of the previous framework.

UA age makers reiterated

The new guidelines also reiterate three age-based UA makers; UA 7+, UA 13+ and UA 16+, under which parental guidance is advised for children below the specified age.

However, the age markers themselves are not new. They were introduced through the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, and are also defined under the Cinematograph Act. The Union government subsequently amended the 1991 guidelines in May 2025 to incorporate the three markers into the guidelines.

Back then, CBFC chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati specifically highlighted the markers on ‘X,’ pleading with filmmakers to ensure they are clearly communicated to audiences.

He said their inclusion in the latest guidelines was intended to reinforce their importance and increase awareness within the film industry as well as society at large.

Several provisions from 1991 retained

While the guidelines have been updated, a huge fraction of the 1991 framework remains unchanged. Some provisions have triggered a new debate on social media after the publication of the new rules.

These include the restriction on depicting the modus operandi of criminals and provisions against visuals or words promoting ‘communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific and anti-national’ attitudes.

Furthermore, the guidelines state that films should not strain friendly relations with foreign States, endanger public order or the security of the State, question India’s sovereignty and integrity, or contain defamatory or contemptuous material.

New CBFC board takes charge

The guidelines have been unleashed days after the government reconstituted the CBFC after nine years, appointing an 18-member board. The previous full reconstitution of the board unfolded in 2017.

The newly appointed members include big names such as Suniel Shetty, Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi and Prosenjit Chatterjee, filmmaker Priyadarshan, musician Ricky Kej and television actor Rupali Ganguly, as well as others.