Actor-producer Vishal Krishna Reddy called out corruption by the Mumbai CBFC, posting a video on his social media handle. CBFC allegedly asked him to pay Rs 6.5 lakh to certify the Hindi version of his film Mark Antony, released on Thursday.
In the video, Vishal said Rs 6.5 lakh of his hard-earned money was swindled and requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to look into the matter.
Talking to media Vishal said, “Usually, it costs Rs 20,000 in the form of a DD in favour of CBFC and another Rs 20-25,000 for the preview depending on the screen. It came across as a shocker when I was asked for Rs 6.5 lakh for censor.” He said he asked his secretary Harikrishnan to maintain a record of all transactions as proof.
“They asked me to settle the money in cash but I ensured that all transactions were done by Hari through the bank to maintain records.
The person, named Menaka, was calm and composed until the transaction was made,” he revealed. Vishal said there is no point in making films on corruption until it is called out in real life.
None of my colleagues should fall prey to this trap in the future Vishal stated. If CBFC is corrupt, imagine senior citizens’ plight in the PF office and homemakers in ration shops,” he added.
He has tweeted the same to PM and HM. We have to see what kind of action would the Government take on the CBFC. The bribing has all the proofs as the payment has been made through the bank accounts.
