Tamil actor Vishal took to social media this evening and called out a mediator from the CBFC for allegedly asking him to pay a bribe worth Rs 6.5 lakh to get the Hindi version of his latest film Mark Anotny released. In his post on X, he stated that he paid Rs 3 lakh for screening and Rs 3.5 lakh to obtain a U/A certificate through a detailed back transaction.
Speaking to News18 exclusively, he says, “Corruption does exist. I don’t even know who has a stake as far as the amount that I’ve given goes. The lady (mediator) told me that it goes all the way up to the CEO. She asked me the amount as if it’s a weekly affair. She also told me that if a maker applied for a film to be screened 15 days before the release, they only charge them Rs 4 lakh. It’s like going to a Zara showroom where there’s a price tag for every piece of clothing.”
He further elaborates, “I had two reasons to pay Rs 6.5 lakh. One was to get my film released because a lot was at stake. That’s the price I paid to get the truth out. It was very alarming. I’ve never faced something like this in my career. I can’t fight against corruption only on the silver screen. I got to see corruption in real life and that too in a government office. They can’t take money from producers so casually to justify giving them a certificate. I’m not doing an adult or a porn film. I was applying for a film that was already been certified and released in South India. Maybe I went there late. But Rs 6.5 lakh for a certificate?”
Vishal, who is also the General Secretary of the South Indian Film Artists Association, states that he has never seen such a practice in South India and that has left him baffled. “We struggled a lot to shell out Rs 6.5 lakh suddenly. Just imagine what would a small-time producer do? I don’t know about Bollywood but these things don’t exist in south India at all!” he says.
In his post, he tagged PM Narendra Modi and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to look into the matter. Quiz him about it and he points out, “I deliberately didn’t pay in cash so that I’ve a record of the transaction. I want to safeguard future producers and make sure that the higher officials take some kind of action. That’s why I tagged the Honourable Prime Minister of India and the Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra. We need to be assured that if there’s corruption, action needs to be taken.”
So what made him take to social media to share his experience? “I would rather face the consequences than not sleep tonight. If I hadn’t done this and spoken about paying my hard-earned money for corruption, I wouldn’t have slept today. I can sleep well because my conscience is clean. I paid my technicians to get a film done but why should I pay to get a certificate? It’s their job to give a certificate. That’s why they’re being paid by the government. Why should they be paid by producers?” he remarks.
Vishal further continues, “I don’t know who paid and who didn’t in the past but it was truly alarming for me. I doubt one person can take the money and give a certificate. It has to be signed by the RO, the CEO, the chairman and its members who get to watch the film. They’ve to give us an explanation.”
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