Liger’s Puri Jagannadh, Charmme Kaur grilled by ED over suspected violation of FEMA
The Enforcement Directorate, on Thursday, grilled filmmaker Puri Jagannadh and producer Charmme Kaur on alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The makers of the Hindi-Telugu film ‘Liger’ were grilled by the probe agency for over 12 hours.
FollowThe Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been focusing on the money trail to Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday-starrer ‘Liger’ for suspected violations of the Foreign Exchange and Management Act (FEMA).
Officials of the ED who are probing the matter, grilled Liger’s director Puri Jagannadh, and actor-turned-producer Charmme Kaur for over 12 hours on Thursday. The two, who were issued notices 15 days ago, were questioned about the source of investment for the film which was released in August.
‘Liger’ also saw American boxer, Mike Tyson, in an extended cameo, marking his Bollywood debut with the film backed by Dharma Productions. Per the reports, the film is said to make on a budget of Rs 125 crore. The film which also featured Revathi as Vijay Deverakonda’s mother and Chunky Panday in a cameo role as Ananya’s father was mostly shot in parts of Las Vegas. Despite promoting the film on a pan-India level, Vijay Deverakonda’s Bollywood debut tanked miserably at the box office.
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As for the money, trail is concerned, the probe was initiated by the ED after Congress leader Bakka Judson filed a complaint alleging that the investments made into the film were done through dubious routes. Judson alleged in his complaint that some politicians had also invested in the movie, further claiming that the investors found it to be an easier way to turn their black money into white.
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Meanwhile, weeks before its release, Vijay Deverakonda was embroiled in multiple controversies that hugely impacted the film’s box office collection. After Vijay spoke in favor\ur of Aamir Khan over the ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ controversy, netizens started to trend ‘Boycott Liger’ on social media.
After ‘Liger’, Vijay Deverakonda and Puri Jagannadh will once again be working together. Their second project together, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was announced early this year. The film is expected to hit the theatres next year in August and will see Vijay in an army officer’s role.
