Meet the 18 members of the new Censor Board committee

The central government has reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), popularly known as the Censor Board, with an 18-member committee comprising actors, filmmakers, musicians, writers and people from other fields.

The new committee includes actors Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty, Manoj Joshi and Prosenjit Chatterjee; actresses Preity Zinta, Rupali Ganguly and Pallavi Joshi; musician Ricky Kej; filmmaker Priyadarshan; former BJP MP Hans Raj Hans; BJP MLA Roopa Ganguly; and writer Yatindra Mishra, among others.

Other members are Vinod Anupam, Abhishek Jain, Supriya Yarlagadda, Neel Madhab Panda, Nishigandha Wad, Vaman Kendre and Ramesh Patange.

The composition has drawn attention because several members have either been associated with the BJP or have publicly expressed views favourable to the party or Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Pankaj Tripathi and Pallavi Joshi

Pankaj Tripathi is among the best-known names on the committee. The actor played former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the 2024 film Main Atal Hoon and had an important role in The Tashkent Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri.

Agnihotri has also directed The Kashmir Files (2022), The Vaccine War (2023) and The Bengal Files (2025). His wife, actor Pallavi Joshi, is another member of the new committee.

The Kashmir Files became particularly controversial after Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, who headed the jury at the International Film Festival of India in November 2022, described it as "vulgar and propaganda". His remarks triggered a controversy in India.

The film had received significant support from the BJP. BJP governments in several states declared it tax-free, while party leaders and ministers publicly promoted or watched the film.

Following the controversy, Lapid said in an interview: “In countries where people stop speaking the truth and only praise the government, someone has to stand up and speak the truth.”

Suniel Shetty

Shetty, another prominent Bollywood name on the committee, was particularly popular in the 1990s. His public comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi have also attracted attention.

Recently, in an interview with Navika Kumar of Times Now, Shetty praised Modi and said his granddaughter offers laddoos every morning to a photograph of the prime minister along with Ganapati.

Yatindra Mishra

The writer comes from Ayodhya's erstwhile royal family. His father, the late Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, was a member of the Ram Mandir Trust in Ayodhya, constituted by Prime Minister Modi.

Mishra has written extensively on film and music and received a National Film Award for his book on Lata Mangeshkar. He has also served on various National Film Award juries.

BJP links

The committee also includes BJP MLA Roopa Ganguly and former BJP MP and singer Hans Raj Hans. Film and television actor Manoj Joshi, another member, has publicly supported the BJP and campaigned for the party. He is originally from Gujarat.

The new committee brings together people from cinema, music, literature, theatre and other fields. The CBFC is responsible for certifying films, making its decisions directly relevant to their release.

There has been no change in the board's regulatory framework. It continues to function under the Cinematograph Act and the Film Certification Rules, 2024. The new members will have a maximum tenure of three years.

Shashi Shekhar Vempati to head board

The CBFC will be headed by Shashi Shekhar Vempati, who was appointed chairman in May this year.

Vempati is not from the film industry. A technocrat and former CEO of Prasar Bharati, he previously served as the public broadcaster's chief executive. He was awarded the Padma Shri in January 2026. He succeeded lyricist Prasoon Joshi, who left the CBFC chair after being appointed chairman of Prasar Bharati.