Vijay Deverakonda: Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned actor Vijay Deverakonda over the funding of his last release Liger. This comes two weeks after filmmaker Puri Jagannadh and producer Charmee Kaur were grilled about the funding for the film. The film was caught into controversy after reports that money for the film came from a foreign source in clear violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of 1999. ED summoned Vijay to know about the identity of the financiers.
‘It is an experience’
Speaking to reporters earlier on Wednesday, Vijay said he went and met the officials because it was his duty. “With great popularity comes challenges and there’s nothing you can do about it. But I see this as an experience. I did my duty when they called. I went and answered their questions,” said Vijay.
Vijay confirmed he was questioned for 12 hours but didn’t say if he had been called again. Two weeks ago, the Liger filmmaker-producer duo of Puri Jagannadh and Charmee Kaur was also grilled for close to 12 hours. “The ED officials wanted to know the name of the company or individuals who funded the movie. They strongly believe that the money used to fund the movie came from abroad. They’re investigating to check if any of this funding was in violation of FEMA,” a source said.
It was said that some politicians invested their black money to fund the movie.
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Liger funding case
The ED officials are questioning the team of Liger over an alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The officials suspect that many political leaders and companies transferred money invested in the making of Liger.
The investigation began after Congress leader Bakka Judson lodged a complaint with the ED in August stating that many politicians had invested money in Liger. He also pointed out that many invested in the film to routing money and turn their black money into white.
Liger, which was released in August of this year, tanked at the box office and received poor reviews. Made on a lavish budget of Rs 100 crores, the film also featured boxing legend Mike Tyson, Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishnan, Ronit Roy among others.
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