Shyam Benegal-led panel will bring good results: Farhan Akhtar

Farhan Akhtar is hopeful that the new Shyam Benegal-headed committee will bring positive changes in censor board.

New Delhi: Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar is hopeful that the new Shyam Benegal-headed committee will bring positive changes in the controversy-ridden censor board.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has been at the centre of flak for some time now, owing to its decision from cutting scenes in films like "NH 10" and "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" to shortening a kiss in "Spectre".

The 41-year-old "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" star feels a rating system should be adopted while certifying a film. "Everything is work in progress. A new committee has been set up, headed by Mr Shyam Benegal. I would hope some result will come of it that benefits artists.

"In my personal opinion, there needs to be a rating system. We are stuck with the U, U/A and A system, which do not allow that much sensibility. You can't tell a person above a certain age that you are immature to watch a kiss. We don't need to be babysit," Farhan said in an interview here.

There were reports that an intimate scene between Farhan and actress Aditi Rao Hyadri in their upcoming film "Wazir" was chopped off by the board. The "Rock On!" star denied the rumours but expressed his disappointment with the "inconsistency" in the CBFC's working.

"There has not been consistency in the way the censor board has behaved in the past that can tell you what will be removed. Every single time the people in the committee that come to watch your film, they are not the same people.

"Different members come, hence they have different sensibilities and aesthetics. You can't have a written rule and this is with every art form because context is everything.
Snipping has to be done away," he said.