Amid corruption allegations by actor Vishal who said the producers had to pay Rs 6.5 lakh to the representatives of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to get his film ‘Mark Antony’ certified in theatres, the board in a statement said today “we have deeply reflected on and analysed issues at hand” in the light of recent developments.
“Immediate cognizance of the feedback has been taken, and the issue is being investigated with immense gravity. We will get to the root of this, and strict action will be taken accordingly,” the CBFC said in a statement today.
Actor Vishal’s allegations of bribery against the CBFC’s Mumbai office surfaced on social media when his movie was getting released in Hindi in theatres. His post included details of payments to alleged middlemen for the film certification.
The CBFC also stressed that “the personnel mentioned are not its officials, but unauthorised third-party intermediaries”.
After the actor requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to investigate the matter, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stressed “zero tolerance for corruption” and deputed a senior officer to conduct an inquiry.
The CBFC also stated that the application for the certification should be sent in advance, and not “rushed at the last minute”. “Between 12,000-18000, films are certified annually by the CBFC, which involves human time to view their screenings. Many a time, the committees, with sincerity, accommodate the fervent and urgent requests of the producers to meet the crucial release dates of their films. The unrealistic pressure of these collapsed timelines and the CBFC’s diligent support are often underappreciated yet dutifully provided. Keeping schedules in mind, the stipulated time required for the Certification process needs to be respected and appropriately planned for by the producers.”
The film board also stated some measures that will be implemented at the organisation level such as no physical submission of documents, no in-person collection of the certificate, e-delivery of encrypted digital cinema package and a redressal mechanism to eliminate any third-party interference.
CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi had called an emergency meeting on October 3, after the Tamil actor’s corruption allegations.
Joshi had demanded a CBI inquiry earlier into Vishal’s allegations. In a statement, the CBFC said, “This is in reference to the allegations of corruption made against CBFC by Tamil actor, Mr Vishal, for screening of his film ‘Mark Antony’ and getting a U/A certificate for Hindi version. We at IFTDA are concerned about these allegations made against the CBFC officials. We therefore demand a CBI inquiry against the complaint made”.
The film ‘Mark Antony’ was released on September 15, and the Hindi version was out in theatres on September 28.
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