Days after, actor Vishal revealed that the CBFC official in Mumbai demanded a fee of Rs 6.5 lakhs to release his film ‘Mark Antony‘ in Hindi. The actor’s allegations against the CBFC over corruption have attracted the nation’s interest in the corruption happening in the film industry. Following the actor’s complaint, the I&B ministry has agreed to take the necessary action.The new update is that CBFC chief Prasoon Joshihas called for an emergency meeting on Tuesday, October 3.The meeting will be attended by all the regional officers, and it is said that the discussion will take place to resolve the issue that was mentioned by Vishal. Apart from theMinistry of Information and Broadcast, even the film production association has asked for a CBI inquiry against the involved officers. Vishal’s allegations were not baseless, and the actor even shared the transaction details of the bill of Rs 6.5 lakh paid as a bribe to the Mumbai CBFC.According to our sources, because of the prevailing corruption allegations, other Hindi and regional films are also yet to clear censorship, and it is stated that a few moviemakers are contemplating pushing the release of the film later as the censor board has reduced the speed of work in certifying the films.
After the government took notice of actor Vishal’s complaint against the CBFC, several leaders and industry people came into action. On Friday evening, the former chairperson of the board, Pahlaj Nihalani made a strong statement, demanding a resignation from the current board head – Prasoon Joshi. In an interview with Aaj Tak, the producer claimed Joshi is an absentee chairman who doesn’t actively participate in the operation of the board. Criticising the current condition of the CBFC, Nihalani said Joshi has no right to keep sitting on that chair and let the corruption happen under his nose. He added that Prasoon Joshi has delegated all his responsibilities to the CO whose basic job is to look after the administration. Nihalani called the current situation at the CBFC ‘shameful’. He was quoted as saying, “If he is not able to give time, then he has no right to continue sitting on that chair.” The former CBFC head revealed that this is not the first case of corruption in the board. Nihalani claimed that this incident will make other producers and filmmakers come out with their own stories of corruption soon. “I get messages from many producers, they say that ‘if you were there sire, we wouldn’t have had any problem, but as it is now, nothing happens without money’.” He added that the board doesn’t even watch movies. The producer went on to add more to the corruption claims and said even one of his acquaintances had to give money to the board to get the certification for the Hindi version of his film which was originally made in Kannada. “Corruption is happening so openly here,” he said.