Comments
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on Friday ordered a probe into the bribery allegations made against the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) by Tamil producer and actor Vishal.
In a post on X, the Ministry said that the corruption in CBFC “brought forth by” the actor is “extremely unfortunate”. “The Government has zero tolerance for corruption and strictest action will be taken against anyone found involved. A senior officer from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has been deputed to Mumbai to conduct an inquiry today itself,” the I&B Ministry stated. The Ministry also urged people to co-operate and share information about “any other instances of harassment by CBFC”.
In a post and video on the social media platform, Vishal has alleged that he had to pay ₹6.5 lakh to the CBFC’s Mumbai office for the screening and certification of the Hindi version of his film Mark Antony. Directed by Adhik Ravichandran, the flick was released in Hindi on Thursday.
What had happened
In his post, Vishal made an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to investigate the “scam” that transpired at the CBFC’s Mumbai office. “Had to pay 6.5 lacs for my film #MarkAntony Hindi version. 2 transactions. 3 Lakhs for screening and 3.5 Lakhs for certificate. Never faced this situation ever in my career. Had no option but to pay the concerned mediator coz too much at stake since movie released today (sic)“ he alleged on the social media platform on Thursday.
CBFC too reacted on Friday evening on the allegations. “It has been noticed that despite the online certification system i.e. e-Cinepramaan in place and regular updates on new system improvements for the film producers/applicants, they still choose to apply through intermediaries or agents. This goes against the objective of eliminating third-party involvement in the certification process,” it said in a statement.
“However, we have taken note of the allegations being reported very seriously and CBFC has zero tolerance for corruption. Also, the strictest action will be taken against anyone found involved and we shall get into the root cause. Meanwhile, any attempt to malign the image of CBFC will not be tolerated,” the Censor Board’s statement added.
Meanwhile, industry bodies such as Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) and Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) have expressed serious concerns regarding the allegations.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.