On Sunday, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs issued a gazette notification revealing the new 15-member 'Bangladesh Film Censor Board' committee, by the order of the President.
Following the ouster of the previous regime by the student-led mass uprising, there were significant talks regarding the Censor Board reformation. Strong demands were raised by film industry professionals for a reorganised committee, demanding the removal of previous members and the formation of a new, more efficient board.
The newly formed Censor Board will be now headed by the Senior Secretary/Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the Chairman, and the existing Vice Chairman of the Bangladesh Film Censor Board will be the Member Secretary.
However, there are surprisingly new faces in the newly formed Censor Board, including the ‘Mohanagar’-famed renowned filmmaker Ashfaque Nipun, actress-puppeteer and activist Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed, popular writer Mohammad Nazimuddin, renowned filmmaker Khijir Hayat Khan, filmmaker-film researcher and academician Zakir Hossain Raju, author-screenwriter and filmmaker Tasmiah Afrin Mou, and film producer-writer-director Rafiqul Anowar Russell, among others.
However, filmmaker Ashfaque Nipun has, for the first time, declined his appointment to the censor board. He announced the decision in a Facebook post last Sunday night.
In the Facebook post he said, "Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told me the Censor Board will be converted into a Censor Certification Board within the next few months. I was against the censor board practice in the film industry. I was truly honoured that the Ministry deemed me fit to join the board. However, a miscommunication occurred. I have decided not to accept the official board membership and have graciously declined. I have already addressed this issue with the Ministry of Information."
“My position for the abolition of the Censorboard will always be ongoing. I wish the remaining members of the newly formed Censor Board, who are my colleagues, will abolish their Censor Boards and quickly introduce a Censor Certification Board or Grading System,” he added.
Eminent filmmaker and President of the Bangladesh Film Directors' Association Kazi Hayat will serve as a member of the censor board. At the same time, the Senior Secretary/Secretary of the Law and Justice Division, the Press Secretary from the Chief Advisor's Office, the Additional Secretary (Film) from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, a representative from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Managing Director of the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation will also be the new board members.
