CBFC bribery row: From Vishal raising his voice to Farhan Akhtar defending the board, chronology of events

Tamil actor Vishal's allegations against the Central Board of Film Certification has created quite a stir. With many coming in support of the actor, some have also sided with the film board. Just a day into the accusations and a lot of big names have already given their opinion. Read on to know who said what.

Hyderabad: Vishal, a Tamil actor and producer, claimed that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) office in Mumbai demanded a bribe of Rs 6.5 lakh in exchange for the Hindi censor rights to his most recent film Mark Antony. He requested assistance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of Maharashtra in his video letter.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting jumped into action after actor Vishal K accused him of corruption. Considering his concern, the Ministry tweeted on Friday stating that the incident was very unfortunate. Furthermore, it reaffirmed that the government tolerates no corruption and that defaulters will face the worst punishment.

In the meantime, Pahlaj Nihalani, a former CBFC Chairman, has come forth to support the Tamil actor's stance. With the embarrassing episode coming to light, the ex-chairman took a dig at Prasoon Joshi, claiming that "the Chairman does not come to work and is not involved in day-to-day operations." Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, a former CBFC member, joined him saying the accusations are "very serious" and urged that the CBI conduct a probe.

Further, he claimed that none of the people the Tamil actor accused of asking for money are CBFC personnel, thus "whoever the money was given to has to be investigated." The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), on the other hand, has received support from Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's production company Excel Entertainment a day after Tamil actor Vishal claimed that Censor Board officials demanded a bribe from him in exchange for giving their movie Mark Antony a U/A rating.

"During our extensive partnership, from our first film, Dil Chahta Hai, to our most recent, Fukrey 3, we have not encountered any obstacles or corrupt practises," their post stated. For the unversed, Mark Antony is a science fiction action comedy movie, which released in south states on September 15. The film is helmed by Adhik Ravichandran and bankrolled by S Vinod Kumar.