Dawn of a new era: Meet the members of newly constituted Censor Board

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday replaced Pahlaj Nihalani from the position of Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification. The board now will be headed by adman and lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

The ministry also reconstituted the CBFC board, reducing the strength to 12 from 18 earlier. The board now constitutes seven new members and five old ones.

The following members will now decide what the viewers can see and what needs to be pruned from a movie:

Chairman: Prasoon Joshi

The award winning lyricist, adman and screenwriter is known for his soul touching songs. He wrote the lyrics of songs for films like Taare Jameen Par, Rang De Basanti and Fanaa.  He also heads an advertising and marketing company McCann Worldgroup India.

Also Read: Pahlaj Nihalani ‘sanskari’ tenure as Censor Board chief

New members

Gautami Tadimalla

Gautami is a renowned actress who has done films in most of the south Indian languages—Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. She reached to prominence in 80s and 90s with classics like Apoorva Sagodharargal, Thevar Magan, Iruvar. Her role of Nivedha in Tamil film Nee Pathi Naan Pathi won her a won a Filmfare Award in 1991.

Narendra Kohli

One of the most sought after novelist of Hindi Literature, he used puranas and other mythological stories as the base for his work. He penned a 1,800 page novel Abhyudaya based on the story of deity Rama.

Kohli taught in the Department of Hindi of the Motilal Nehru College in Delhi for 30 years before retiring in 1995.

Neil Herbert Nongkynrih

The musician from Meghalaya is a Padma Shri awardee and the brain behind the music group Shillong Chamber Choir which won the India’s Got Talent in 2011.

Nongkynrih received his training in music Trinity College of Music, London and has performed all over the world.

Vivek Agnihotri

Vivek is an acclaimed director and producer from Bollywood who has directed films like Chocolate, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and Buddha in a Traffic Jam.

Waman Kendre

Waman Kendre is a theatre personality and currently the director of National School of Drama, New Delhi.

He himself is an NSD alumnus and has taught art and drama for more than thirty years. He had been part of many governmental committees on performance arts.

Vidya Balan

The 38-year-old actress is an established name in the Hindi film industry. With the films like Lage Raho Munna Bhai, The Dirty Picture, Kahaani, Paa and Ishqiya, she has received critical appreciations along with commercial successes. She is married to Siddharth Roy Kapur, the CEO of UTV Motion Pictures.

Old Members

These names were also a part of the previous panel and their services has been continued:

T S Nagabharana

Nagabharana is a Kannada director who has worked in both TV and film industry. Along with acclaimed and award winning films like Mysore Mallige, Aasphota and Santha Shishunala Sharifa, he has also been active in theatre constantly producing children dramas.

Ramesh Patange

Ramesh Patange is a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) Samajik Samarasta Manch. He worked as an editor of a Marathi weekly magazine ‘Vivek’. Patange has also edited a book on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee—Atalji: The Pathfinder.

Vani Tripathi Tikoo

Actress and politician Vani Tripathi Tikoo has been associated with Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and been its General Secretary as well. Most recognised films she has been part of are Chalte Chalte, Dushman and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.

Jeevitha Rajasekhar

Jeevitha is a Tamil and Telugu actress known for films like Seshu. Married to actor Rajasekhar, Jeevitha wears many hats. She is a mother of two daughters, a social activist and also runs a school. She has also been associated with Andhra Pradesh Producers Council.

Mihir Bhuta

Mihir Bhuta is a well-known Gujarati writer who was appointed the member of the board in 2015.