Tamil actor Vishal thanks I&B Ministry for ordering inquiry after CBFC corruption allegations

Mumbai: Tamil actor Vishal on Saturday expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for ordering an immediate inquiry into his corruption allegations against the Mumbai office of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Vishal had alleged that he had to pay Rs 6.5 lakh to the CBFC's Mumbai office for the screening and certification of the Hindi version of his film "Mark Antony". He also made an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to investigate the "scam" that transpired at the CBFC's Mumbai office. Following his post on microblogging site X, the I&B ministry said the government had zero tolerance for corruption and strictest action will be taken against anyone found involved.

"I sincerely thank @MIB_India for taking immediate steps on this important matter pertaining to the corruption issue in #CBFC Mumbai. Thank you very much for the necessary action taken and definitely hoping for this to be an example for every government official who intends to or is part of corruption and to take the honest route to serve the nation and not the steps of corruption," Vishal wrote on X on Saturday.

"I once again thank my Prime Minister @narendramodi and Maharashtra CM @mieknathshinde and everyone involved in bringing out this initiative immediately. It brings a sense of satisfaction to a common man like me and others that justice will be served to people who are victims of corruption, Jai-Hindi," he added. The I&B ministry on Friday said that a senior officer has been deputed to Mumbai to conduct an inquiry into the matter. Vishal's sci-fi film "Mark Antony", directed by Adhik Ravichandran, was released in Hindi on Thursday. The movie also features S J Suryah, Ritu Varma, Sunil, Selvaraghavan and Abhinaya. According to a senior official, I&B minister Anurag Thakur wants the CBFC to speed up creating a transparent mechanism for faster certification of films in urgent cases and further strengthen the oversight measures. The minister has sought an action-taken report in the matter by October 16.