The Central Board of Film Certification, issued a press release on Friday following the corruption charges made against them by Tamil actor Vishal. The CBFC statement came after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ordered a probe into issue with immediate effect. Vishal on Thursday claimed on social media that he had to pay ₹6.5 lakh to get a censor certificate from the CBFC, Mumbai office before the release of the Hindi version of his film ‘Mark Antony’.His post read, “Never faced this situation ever in my career. Had no option but to pay the concerned mediator #Menaga coz too much at stake since movie released today. My hard-earned money gone for corruption? No way.”
In a press release, CBFC stated, “It has been noticed that despite the online certification system i.e. E-Cinepramaan in place and regular updates on new system improvements for the film producers/applicants, they still choose to apply through intermediaries or agents. This goes against the objective of eliminating third-party involvement in the certification process. With the implementation of aggressive digitization, complete process automation, and emphasis on minimal human intervention, the interference of intermediaries/agents has come down significantly however, the practice still exists in some regions which is defeating the purpose of transparency and smooth functioning of the certification process.
Please do not deal with any intermediary or third-party agent. The producers/filmmakers are further cautioned that they should not encourage any third-party agents/ intermediaries. On the contrary, if any third party is claiming they represent CBFC and are demanding any sum of amount, please report it immediately to CBFC at ceo.cbfc@nic.in, romum.cbfc@nic.in
However, we have taken note of the allegations being reported very seriously and CBFC has zero tolerance for corruption. Also, the strictest action will be taken against anyone found involved and we shall get into the root cause. Meanwhile, any attempt to malign the image of CBFC will not be tolerated. The producers/filmmakers are hereby requested to apply their films well in advance to meet their scheduled release. However, in extreme cases of urgency, the producers/filmmakers may approach the higher officials at CBFC along with a written request and reasonable grounds for an early examination which may be entertained on a merit basis by taking details from our website and/or on ceo.cbfc@nic.in.”
Earlier in the day, MIB stated, “The issue of corruption in CBFC brought forth by actor @VishalKOfficial is extremely unfortunate. The Government has zero tolerance for corruption and strictest action will be taken against anyone found involved. A senior officer from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has been deputed to Mumbai to conduct an inquiry today itself. We request everyone to cooperate with the Ministry, by providing information about any other instance of harassment by CBFC at jsfilms.inb@nic.in.”
In a press release, CBFC stated, “It has been noticed that despite the online certification system i.e. E-Cinepramaan in place and regular updates on new system improvements for the film producers/applicants, they still choose to apply through intermediaries or agents. This goes against the objective of eliminating third-party involvement in the certification process. With the implementation of aggressive digitization, complete process automation, and emphasis on minimal human intervention, the interference of intermediaries/agents has come down significantly however, the practice still exists in some regions which is defeating the purpose of transparency and smooth functioning of the certification process.
Please do not deal with any intermediary or third-party agent. The producers/filmmakers are further cautioned that they should not encourage any third-party agents/ intermediaries. On the contrary, if any third party is claiming they represent CBFC and are demanding any sum of amount, please report it immediately to CBFC at ceo.cbfc@nic.in, romum.cbfc@nic.in
However, we have taken note of the allegations being reported very seriously and CBFC has zero tolerance for corruption. Also, the strictest action will be taken against anyone found involved and we shall get into the root cause. Meanwhile, any attempt to malign the image of CBFC will not be tolerated. The producers/filmmakers are hereby requested to apply their films well in advance to meet their scheduled release. However, in extreme cases of urgency, the producers/filmmakers may approach the higher officials at CBFC along with a written request and reasonable grounds for an early examination which may be entertained on a merit basis by taking details from our website and/or on ceo.cbfc@nic.in.”
Earlier in the day, MIB stated, “The issue of corruption in CBFC brought forth by actor @VishalKOfficial is extremely unfortunate. The Government has zero tolerance for corruption and strictest action will be taken against anyone found involved. A senior officer from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has been deputed to Mumbai to conduct an inquiry today itself. We request everyone to cooperate with the Ministry, by providing information about any other instance of harassment by CBFC at jsfilms.inb@nic.in.”