Government Reconstitutes 18-Member CBFC Panel Headed by Shashi Shekhar Vempati

Key facts

• The Centre reconstituted the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on September 16, 2026, with an 18-member panel headed by chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati, effective immediately for three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• The new board includes actors Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty and Prosenjit Chatterjee, filmmaker Priyadarshan, and Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej.
• Other members include film critic Vinod Anupam, actor Manoj Joshi, filmmaker Abhishek Jain, singer and former parliamentarian Hans Raj Hans, producer Supriya Yarlagadda, poet Yatindra Mishra and actor Roopali Ganguly.
• Theatre director Waman Kendre and writer Ramesh Patange are the only two members retained from the previous board.
• The CBFC was last reconstituted in August 2017 for a three-year term, and its members continued beyond 2020 until successors were appointed.
• The outgoing board included Vidya Balan, Vivek Agnihotri, Mihir Bhutia, Gautami Tadimalla, Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Jeevitha Rajasekhar, T S Nagabharana and Naresh Chandra Lal, besides Kendre and Patange.