Mammootty, Mohanlal to settle income tax dues

Malayalam actors Mammootty and Mohanlal, whose premises had been raided by the Income Tax department, have  admitted to having assets beyond their known sources of income.

Both actors have agreed to settle their dues and have added that they will carry out their audits properly in future and closely monitor their revenues.

The IT department had acted on a tip from certain agencies on the business modules worked out by the superstars in the middle east for satellite rights. But the IT department authorities did not substantiate that claim.

There have been reports of both actors having illegal business deals in selling the satellite rights of their movies to Bollywood investor, Gulshan, who is believed to have contacts with some organisations and individuals who are wanted in India.

While the authorities have said that the actors do not have anything to do with the other activities of Gulshan, they are probing whether these actors had entered into some business deal with him or any other individual, with business links to Gulshan.

Sources in the department told rediff.com that the actors had been boasting of properties in and out the country, and this was also a factor that prompted the authorities to look into their monetary affairs closely.

Mohanlal has been claiming to have flats in the Burj Khaleefa, Dubai while Mammootty is reported to have announced his investments in several properties including a hospital

in Bangalore and real estate investments inside and outside Kerala.

A top producer told rediff.com on condition of anonymity that the actors have been amassing wealth and that the IT raid did not come as a surprise to the industry. He said both actors were charging hefty fees for appearing in advertisements and inaugural functions.

The producer told rediff.com that a coterie surrounding these actors were, in fact, taking huge money from gullible producers with the claim that the dates of these stars would be given.

Mammootty and Mohanlal have started producing their own movies -- the former under the banner of Playhouse and the latter under Vismaya Films. Mohanlal's driver Antony Perumbavoor has become one of the most sought after men for producers of the Malayalam film industry, and actor was acting in the movies produced by him.

The raid on the two acrors shook the industry with several stars, filmmakers and technicians making a beeline to the local IT office and the offices of their chartered accountants to file their returns in a proper manner.

Meanwhile, the call for Mohanlal to be stripped of his lieutenant colonel status has gained momentum. Renowned writer and social critic Dr Sukumar Azheecode called upon Union Defence Minister A K Antony to strip Mohanlal of the post as the actor has deceived the government of India and thereby the people of the country by giving wrong tax details to the authorities.