Tamil star Vishal Krishna opened up a pandora’s box by releasing a video where he alleges that a staffer at the Central Board Of Film Certification in Mumbai allegedly asked him for Rs 650,000 before issuing a censor certificate for the Hindi version of his Tamil blockbuster Mark Antony.
“Sir, it was something I had to do not only for myself — I got my certificate to release Mark Antony in time for the release on Friday — but for all those producers before me and after me who face the same situation,” Vishal tells me early on Friday morning.
“Imagine what the small producers in Mumbai have to go through! This is nothing but extortion. Does the government not know about it?”
Vishal recorded the voice of the lady allegedly representing the CBFC. She is heard asking for money on the CBFC’s behalf. The recording, a copy of which is with me, is in Tamil.
“After she asked my manager for money, I made him call the lady again, pretending to be negotiating,” explains Vishal. “But I actually wanted to record the conversation.”
“She says we would have been asked to pay less if we had approached CBFC Mumbai a few weeks earlier, and that we are being made to pay 6.5 lakhs in two instalments because we came so late for our Hindi certification,” says Vishal.
“Can you imagine, they actually have a rate card for producers, with the price varying according to how soon a film is submitted for certification,” exclaims Vishal.
“I had to pay up or else the Hindi version of Mark Antony would have been further delayed. I admit I did wrong. But a right can come out of the wrong if the government probes immediately into what was being whispered about the CBFC in Mumbai for a long time,” says Vishal, adding, “Please note Sir, this is only about the CBFC in Mumbai and not Chennai.”
Now that other producers are coming forward with their own versions of the Bribe scandal at the CBFC Vishal says “This is why I exposed them, Sir. My intention was for others to come forward and let the Government know they are being subjected to this form of extortion.”
Vishal, whose Mark Antony in Tamil is a blockbuster, says he has not been able to enjoy his film’s success.
“Earlier I was in court fighting a stay order against the film. Then I’ve been running around trying to get a certificate for the Hindi version. Now I’ve triggered a war against corrupt practices in the CBFC in Mumbai. This must stop.”