The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a preliminary enquiry into allegations of embezzlement against the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) which has been charged with making excess and undue payments to Anurag Kashyap and other filmmakers. The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry lodged the complaint.
“A PE has been registered against some film companies and unknown officials of the NFDC on a complaint from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The NFDC finances movies and the inquiry is into related aspects,” a CBI officer is quoted as saying in a The Hindu report. He also said the purpose of the inquiry was to determine if there was sufficient evidence to convert the complaint into an FIR.
The inquiry has been launched against some officials of the corporation and producers like Sun TV, UFO Movies, Anurag Kashyap Films and others. However, Kashyap denied knowledge of any such investigation or being served with any notice. The director, through a tweet, requested people coming across the said letter to share a screenshot of the same with him.
The reportage so far on the alleged "investigation" is false, There is no such notice that has been served to me. Only questions i have been getting is from the media . If anyone has seen the copy of such a letter please send me the screenshot .
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) November 22, 2018
NFDC, the central government body that produces and finances Indian movies made headlines in May when the government sacked the organisation’s Managing Director, Nina Lath Gupta, for alleged procedural lapses. Already sacked during the reign of Smriti Irani as I&B minister, Gupta had re-joined the NFDC after an order from the Delhi High Court. She was sacked for allegedly favouring Sun TV Network.
Following Irani’s replacement with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as I&B minister, charges against Gupta were dropped.
Constituted under the I&B ministry in 1975, the NFDC has produced several critically-acclaimed films in the past. Some of them are Mirch Masala, Salaam Bombay, The Lunchbox and the 1982 Richard Attenborough film Gandhi. Starring Ben Kingsley in the titular role, the film won several awards including the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Picture.
