You need to bribe Animal Welfare Board of India to get clearance for your films while using animals or birds as part of the script. Last month also, a Tamil film producer gave Rs 3 lakh as bribe to AWBI to clear his film,” producer K Rajan said to the shock of the gathering at the audio launch of Aangal Jakkiradhai. Thousands of crocodiles have been featured in the climax of the movie produced by actor Gemini Raghava.
The producer also criticised the shifting of the AWBI headquarters from Chennai to Ballabhgarh in Haryana, which has made dealing with AWBI a cumbersome process for a film producer. “The central government should consider bringing back the AWBI office to one of the south regions, so that it would be in closer proximity to film makers.”
When DC contacted Gemini Raghava, he said that he had obtained proper permission from AWBI after submitting the bound script before starting the shoot of AJ. “For the climax, which drives home a point, we needed more than 1,000 crocodiles. Since we followed the procedures that are associated with AWBI, we did not face any such issue as observed by K. Rajan sir.”
Talking about the film he said, “The thriller directed by Muthu Manoharan will send a message that when women misuse the freedom given by parents in the name of women’s lib, the repercussions they face are huge.”
