Subtitles can be added to the film post certification also: Bombay High Court

In the case Indian Motion Picture Producers Association v. Union of India, the issue between the Central Board for Film Certification in India (CBFC) and Indian Motion Pictures Association (IMPAA) was that whether subtitles can be added to a film after getting a certification of endorsement from CBFC. The Court ruled in favour of the appellants and held that the subtitles can be added to the movie even after getting a certification from the CBFC.

The petitioner in the present case produces motion pictures. Usually, while seeking certification, a need arises for providing the subtitles to the film and particularly where the language of the film to be released is not the same as that of the audience. Like, when a Hindi film is telecasted in South India, the producer may opt to provide subtitles to the film to make the audience understand the dialogues better. Thus, the contention of the petitioners is that the film should, along with the subtitles under a fresh review for certification. This in the petitioner’s opinion leads to considerable expenditure and waste of time.

The petition was opposed on the ground that this power of the CBFC flows from Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 which give power to CBFC to review a film and the requirement that any alteration has to be notified to the CBFC respectively.

The bench comprising of Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice S J Kathawalla observed that even according to the affidavit filed by CBFC, the addition of subtitles to the film must be notified to the CBFC in accordance with Form III and Rule 33 of the said rules. Both the parties have agreed to that. The court agreed to the petitioner’s request that the subtitles can be sent in a CD to the CBFC and they can view the same. The only part problematic was the notice that was issued by the CBFC. With reference to that, the court held that the filmmakers may want to release the film in a region where the language is different from the language of the movie and therefore, the need for adding the subtitles might arise. 

The judgment thus saves the filmmakers from extra costs that they otherwise would have to incur while adding subtitles to the film on a later date. It would have also led to delay in the release of the film which in turn would have increased the costs. The court rightly stopped CBFC from exercising its powers more than the act permits. Had this been allowed, it would have affected the filmmakers from all the industries.

-by Amrashaa Singh

Student Reporter, INBA