TN film producers, distributors under I-T scanner

CHENNAI: Top film producers, financiers and distributors from Tamil Nadu, including Anbu Chezhiyan, Kalaipuli Thanu, SR Prabhu, and Gnanavel Raja, are under the Income Tax department’s scanner as more than 40 premises owned by them were searched on Tuesday.

This is the first such largescale search undertaken by the department on film personalities in recent days, said Kothanda Ramaiah (also known as KR and Keyaar), a Tamil film director, producer, distributor, and exhibitor. While initially, it was believed around 10 film financiers, producers, and distributors were under the scanner, sources in the industry said the number could be higher.

As the day progressed, premises of several film distributors and producers were searched. While TNIE’s bid to contact Income Tax officials proved futile, it was learnt that this is not the first time Anbu Chezian’s premises were raided. In February 2020, Income Tax officials raided his premises following the release of his film Bigil, which starred actor Vijay.

Chezhiyan, Thanu at receiving end
I-T department searched over 40 premises of Anbu Chezhiyan, Kalaipuli Thanu, SR Prabhu, Gnanavel Raja, and others from the film industry