Tamil Actor Vishal To Appear For CBI Enquiry in CFBC Bribe Case Today, He Says 'Never Thought I Will...'

Tamil actor Vishal has confirmed that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked him to appear for questioning. The actor will be questioned about his claims that he to pay a bribe of Rs 6.5 lakh to get a censor certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for the Hindi version of his film, Mark Antony. Taking to X (previously known as Twitter) on Tuesday, Vishal confirmed that he is heading to the CBI office for questioning.

“Now on my way to CBI office in Mumbai for an enquiry regarding the CBFC case. Lol. Never ever thought I will be going to this office too in my life,” Vishal posted.

Vishal Accuses CBFC of Bribery

In September, Vishal claimed a mediator from the CBFC allegedly asked him to pay a bribe worth Rs 6.5 lakh to get the Hindi version of his latest film Mark Anotny released. In his post on X, he stated that he paid Rs 3 lakh for screening and Rs 3.5 lakh to obtain a U/A certificate through a detailed back transaction.

Vishal told News18 at the time, “I had two reasons to pay Rs 6.5 lakh. One was to get my film released because a lot was at stake. That’s the price I paid to get the truth out. It was very alarming. I’ve never faced something like this in my career. I can’t fight against corruption only on the silver screen. I got to see corruption in real life and that too in a government office. They can’t take money from producers so casually to justify giving them a certificate. I’m not doing an adult or a porn film. I was applying for a film that was already been certified and released in South India. Maybe I went there late. But Rs 6.5 lakh for a certificate?”

“We struggled a lot to shell out Rs 6.5 lakh suddenly. Just imagine what would a small-time producer do? I don’t know about Bollywood but these things don’t exist in south India at all!” he added.

Vishal had reached out to PM Narendra Modi and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to take necessary actions.

CBI Filed a Case:

In October, Hindustan Times reported that CBI issued a statement confirming they have registered a complaint after Vishal’s shocking allegations. “It was alleged that during the month of September, 2023, a private person entered a conspiracy with others to obtain a bribe of Rs.7,00,000/- & to get the required censor certificate from CBFC, Mumbai for a movie dubbed in Hindi,” CBI said in a statement.

“It was further alleged that in furtherance of the said conspiracy, she initially demanded bribe on behalf of CBFC Mumbai officials amounting to Rs.7,00,000/- from the Complainant and subsequently after negotiation, she allegedly accepted Rs.6,54,000/- as bribe on behalf of CBFC Mumbai officials in two bank accounts of other two accused,” they added.