It is recalled that there is a clear legal provision that the Film Censorship Committee will not grant permission for screening if it is seen as disrupting or opposing the security, peace and order of Nepal or relations with friendly countries.
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The government has directed to ban the screening of films that are detrimental to Nepal's security, peace and order and relations with friendly countries. The Ministry of Information and Communications has sent a letter to the Film Development Board, warning it not to grant permission to screen such films as per the prevailing law.
The letter sent to the Development Board by the Audiovisual and Broadcasting Branch of the ministry has asked it to strictly comply with the provisions of Section 8 (3) of the Films (Production, Exhibition and Distribution) Act, 2026.
It has been reminded that in the said section, there is a clear legal provision that the Film Censorship Committee will not grant permission for screening if it is found that any film or any part thereof will disrupt or oppose the security, peace and order of Nepal or relations with friendly countries.
The letter, digitally signed by the ministry's branch officer Bishal Bhandari, states, 'Films to be screened in Nepal must apply to the Censorship Committee for screening and, based on that, the film producers, distributors and other stakeholders must fully comply with the provisions of the Act, as per the prevailing laws and regulations.'
Talking to Ikantipur about the government's circular and policy-level strictness, Central Film Censorship Committee member Manoj Pandit said that no 'propaganda cinema' will be allowed to run in Nepal now. Admitting that such rules have been lax in the past for foreign films, he informed that this time it is being implemented firmly. Pandit himself said that he has been continuously raising his voice on this issue in board meetings. Pandit said, 'Films made against Nepal's neighboring countries and that defame Nepal's nationality will no longer be screened in Nepal. Earlier, this rule was not very applicable to foreign cinema, but now it is being strictly enforced.’
He clarified that this rule is not targeted against any specific country or individual. ‘This rule is not being applied against anyone. We want to maintain friendly and harmonious relations with all our neighboring countries,’ Pandit added, ‘The main thing is, we do not want to make the coming generation hostile towards anyone through cinema.’ That is why an attempt has been made to ban foreign propaganda cinema.’
