Indian actor Anupam Kher, who has appeared in Bend It Like Beckham has been appointed chief of India's Censor Board.

The move was announced by the Indian information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi, who said Kher had worked in commercial cinema, cross-over cinema and had considerable experience in theatre.

Kher takes over from film director Vijay Anand, whose brother - film star and director Dev Anand - had declined to accept the post.