UCCC to annul membership of chit-tainted film producers

Cuttack: Acting tough on chit-fund tainted film producers, the Utkal Cine Chamber of Commerce (UCCC) today decided to oust them from the producers' association if the allegation against them are proved in court.

"We have decided to scrap their membership and not allow them to make films if they are proved guilty in the court. They will not get any cooperation from the association till the matter is sub-judice," UCCC chairman Dilip Mishra said after the meeting of the producers’ body.

It is highly condemnable that such scam tainted producers are playing with the money of the people even as the film industry is running with the revenue collected from them, Mishra said.

The association has blacklisted some of the scam tainted producers. Not only Oscar chairman Prabhas Rout, but some others who are already behind bars like Gayadhar Swain, Niranjan Rana, Rati Kanungo figure in the list, he said.

The producers' body is considering formulation of new guidelines for registration of membership. "We are thinking of making No Objection Certificate (NoC) and bank statement mandatory for the new members along with valid ID proof and PAN card. But no final decision has been taken on this, he said.

Responding to queries of reporters, Mishra said the existing members may also come under scrutiny. The association, however, pleaded ignorance about the financial deal between artists and such producers. "It is a personal deal between the artist and the producer. How can we ascertain what obligation an artist got from the producers", he asked.

“We cannot provide you any information regarding the fiscal transaction of artists and producers”, the UCCC chief said.

The producers’ association had earlier decided to take tough action against companies like the Oscar, which have invested money earned through chit fund or other dubious sources in the film industry.

“We are disappointed over the allegations that some film producers have invested ill-gotten money. Inserting dialogues in films to promote certain companies owned by the concerned producers is also not acceptable to the industry,” association president Kusha Ranjan Patnaik had said.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch said the OSCAR ponzi company had sent lakhs of rupees to different bank accounts. These account holders include some film artists. The probe agency short-listed 12 accused names including some directors of the company who have borrowed money from the organisation. Similarly, the names of the artists to be interrogated have also been listed. On the other hand, the crime Branch team which is currently in Gujarat is scheduled to meet Baroda police commissioner.