The petition, started by film critic-filmmaker Utpal Borpujari on Change.Org, has garnered some prominent signatories in actor Adil Hussain, Randeep Hooda, filmmaker Hansal Mehta and singer Papon.
The Benegal panel was constituted on January 1, 2016 to suggest changes in the process of film certification. It submitted its report in April last year suggesting amendment of certain sections of the Cinematograph Act 1952.
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has been at loggerheads with filmmakers over the certification of movies, with the directors claiming that the cuts suggested by the board are often arbitrary.
Hussain took to Twitter to share the link of the petition and requested actors Naseeruddin Shah, Huma Qureshi, Konkona Sensharma, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Kalki Koechlin, Richa Chadha and Radhika Apte among others to sign it.
In the petition, Borpujari requested Irani to "take the lead in getting the recommendations of the Shyam Benegal Committee implemented at the earliest possible date so that CBFC, as recommended by the Committee and true to its name, only certifies and does not censor films".