Ashfaque Nipun declines censor board membership offer

The Bangladesh Film Censor Board has undergone a fresh reorganisation. A notification issued on Sunday (September 15) by Saiful Islam, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, announced the formation of a new 15-member committee.

Kazi Hayat, the president of the Bangladesh Film Directors' Association will serve as a member of the censor board. Other members include renowned filmmakers Zakir Hossain Razu, Ashfaque Nipun, Khijir Hayat Khan, Tasmiah Afrin Mou, Rafiqul Anwar Russell, and actress Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed. 

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.

The director has been a vocal advocate for abolishing the censor board system in the country's film industry, which is why he decided to decline the board membership.

In a Facebook post addressing the point, Nipun stated that the Ministry of Information has informed him that the censor board will be restructured into a Censor Certification Board within the next few months. He reiterated his enduring opposition to the censor board system in cinema and the arts.

"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," said the director. 

In the end, the filmmaker stated that his position in favour of abolishing the censor board remains firm. He wished the remaining members of the newly established Bangladesh Film Censor Board, who are his colleagues, success in their efforts to promote the prompt introduction of a Censor Certification Board or a grading system.

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Bangladesh Film Censor Board reconstructed: Who are the members?

The new censor board committee also includes the managing director of the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC), the secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice, the press secretary to the Chief Adviser, the additional secretary (Film) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and a representative from the Department of Public Security (Joint Secretary).