Searches took place at nearly 20 locations in Mumbai and Pune, including premises linked to a talent agency as well as Phantom Films, co-promoted by Anurag Kashyap and producer Vikas Bahl, and producer Madhu Mantena, who is also linked to the production house.
Mumbai/New Delhi: Income Tax officials carried out searches today at properties linked to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actor Taapsee Pannu in Mumbai over alleged tax evasion, sources said. Searches took place at nearly 20 locations in Mumbai and Pune, including premises linked to a talent agency as well as Phantom Films, which was co-promoted by Anurag Kashyap and producers Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena.
"The Income Tax department probes someone based on whatever information they get. The issue goes to court later," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said during a BJP briefing.
Anurag Kashyap and Tapsi Pannu are outspoken critics of the government and have lent their voice to various causes, including the ongoing farmer protests against central laws. Recently, Ms. Pannu had criticized the show of solidarity by celebrities towards the government in response to pop star Rihanna's post drawing attention to the farmers' agitation. The actor took a jibe at the pushback and said it was better to focus on strengthening one's own value system if one tweet rattled one's belief.
"If one tweet rattles your unity, one-joke rattles your faith or one show rattles your religious belief, then it's you who has to work on strengthening your value system not become propaganda teachers for others," Ms. Pannu had said on social media last month.
Anurag Kashyap had been vocal about condemning the violence against anti-Citizenship Act protesters in 2019. Last year, he had expressed support for actor Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case and had slammed Bollywood actors for not speaking up enough on the case.
Phantom Films was dissolved in 2018 following Vikas Bahl being named in an incident of alleged sexual misconduct.
