The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has launched an inquiry into the Mumbai office of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) following allegations of corruption made by Tamil actor Vishal. He claimed that he was required to pay a substantial sum to secure certification for the Hindi release of his movie “Mark Antony.”
These allegations surfaced after Vishal detailed his experience on the microblogging platform X, revealing that he had to pay Rs 6.5 lakh for the screening and certification of “Mark Antony.”
“The issue of corruption in CBFC brought forth by actor @VishalKOfficial is extremely unfortunate. The government has zero tolerance for corruption, and strict action will be taken against anyone found involved,” stated the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The ministry further urged the public to cooperate and share any information related to “any other instance of harassment by CBFC.”
Official sources disclosed that Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, has directed efforts to maximize the use of technology to enhance transparency in the allocation and implementation of faceless systems wherever feasible.
Vishal’s science fiction film “Mark Antony,” directed by Adhik Ravichandran, was released in Hindi, featuring prominent actors such as S J Suryah, Ritu Varma, Sunil, Selvaraghavan, and Abhinaya.
Expressing his concerns, Vishal took to X, making an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, calling for an investigation into the alleged misconduct within the CBFC’s Mumbai office.
He stated, “Due to some technical issues, we applied for the Hindi censor certificate online at the last minute. But we were taken aback by what happened at the CBFC office in Mumbai. On Monday, when my representative visited the office, there was an option given to us – to pay Rs. 6.5 lakh for the certification the same day. We were left with no other option. We were asked to pay Rs 3 lakhs first, just for the screening. The rest Rs 3.5 lakh were for the certificate.”
Vishal further claimed that a female official informed their team that it was a common practice within the CBFC for filmmakers to make payments in exchange for censor clearance.
