Tamil actor-producer Vishal recently made accusations against the Central Board of Film Certification of demanding a bribe of Rs 6.5 lakh to secure the censorship rights for his film, Mark Anthony.
Now, in an interview with Indian Express, Vishal revealed why he decided to bribe the CBFC. He said that the incident took place on September 26, two days before the release.
Vishal said that he would not have given the money if it was a week before, but just because of some technical issues, they had to go a little late for censorship. "Too much was at stake because the film had to be released on September 28 and the posters were out. Everything was ready, and we didn’t have any other option,” he added.
Further, he said that his manager called him and told him that because we were late, a lady was quoting Rs 6.5 lakhs to pay and that they didn't have enough time to think. "She said that all bets were off and the officer wanted to know right now or move on. I took five minutes to gather myself after hearing this,” said Vishal.
Vishal shared that he went through hell to pay for this. The actor revealed that he was shocked because he never knew that corruption would go up to the CBFC. "When my man asked who was involved in this, she very blatantly told him that it went up the ladder," he concluded.
Meanwhile, CFBC reacted to Vishal's claims and said that they have zero tolerance for corruption, and if they find anyone involved, action will be taken.
