India Mandates Anti-Drug Warnings Under Revised Film Rules

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has notified revised film certification guidelines under the Cinematograph Act, replacing rules that had been in place since December 1991. The updated framework mandates that all films depicting the consumption, use, or trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances must prominently feature a statutory warning.

The required on-screen message states: "Illicit Narcotics Destroy Health and Guarantees Imprisonment. Say No To Drugs." In addition to the mandatory warning, the revised rules explicitly stipulate that films must not justify, encourage, or glamorize drug addiction, tobacco consumption, or alcohol use. The regulatory shift follows similar advisories issued last month requiring OTT platforms and private satellite television channels to display anti-drug warnings during comparable scenes.

The revised guidelines direct the Central Board of Film Certification to ensure that anti-social activities such as violence are neither glorified nor justified, and that criminal methods are not depicted in a manner that could incite offenses. The notification instructs the board to guard against content that promotes communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific, or anti-national attitudes, while reiterating that films must avoid straining India's friendly relations with foreign states.

Provisions concerning vulnerable groups have also been reinforced. The board is required to verify that films do not present scenes degrading women, including sexual violence and molestation, and that such depictions are minimized and devoid of graphic detail when essential to the narrative. Furthermore, the guidelines caution against involving children in violence as victims, perpetrators, or forced witnesses, and prohibit child abuse, the ridicule of physically or mentally challenged individuals, and cruelty to animals.

The updated regulatory framework incorporates age-based parental guidance categories introduced following amendments to the Cinematograph Act in 2023 and formalized in May 2025. These categories include U/A 7+, U/A 13+, and U/A 16+, advising parental guidance for children under seven, thirteen, and sixteen years of age, respectively. India's new U/A 7+, U/A 13+, and U/A 16+ categories are comparable to international film rating systems that use age-based tiers, such as the MPA rating system in the United States which includes categories like G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 to serve a similar purpose of age-based guidance, as reported in official releases and industry documentation. Additionally, the board has been instructed to closely scrutinize film titles to prevent the registration of names deemed provocative, vulgar, or offensive.

Simultaneously, the Centre has reconstituted the board of the Central Board of Film Certification into an 18-member panel headed by chairperson Shashi Shekhar Vempati. The newly appointed panel includes notable film personalities and artists such as Preity Zinta, Pankaj Tripathi, Suniel Shetty, Pallavi Joshi, Prosenjit Chatterjee, filmmaker Priyadarshan, and musician Ricky Kej. The reconstituted board has been granted a three-year term or will remain in office until further orders.