Thursday, June 16, 2011

meaning of indian movie censor certificate

While viewing movies,the first screen usually shows certificate from the censor board.It contains a big U or A.Always thought about the meaning of these words but never found satisfactory answers till now.
The Cinematograph Act, 1952 (Act 37 of 1952), apart from including provisions relating to Constitution and functioning of the CBFC ( Central Board of Film Certification or Central Board of Film Censors before 1983), also lays down the guidelines to be followed by certifying films. Initially, there were only two categories of certificate:
‘U’ (unrestricted public exhibition): Movies such as Stanley ka Dabba, Taare Zameen Par and Roadside Romeo. Movies you would take your younger siblings to watch and not feel red-faced about.
‘A’ (restricted to adult audiences): This category grew to include any movie with expletive language, sex and violence- Kaminey, Love, Sex and Dhokha and Ragini MMS.
Later,two other categories were added in June, 1983 – ‘UA’ (unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of twelve)
and 
‘S’(restricted to specialized audiences such as doctors or scientists).
 So these four options are available till now.

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