Cops book founder and son of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards show for allegedly misleading govt bodies for sponsorships
Shirish Vaktania (MID-DAY; February 7, 2025)
The Bandra police have booked a father-son duo for allegedly misleading people by claiming that their event—the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) Award—is an official government programme. According to the FIR, Anil Mishra and his son Abhishek allegedly used WhatsApp calls and messages to convince people to obtain sponsorships from multiple companies.
They have been accused of securing sponsorships from state tourism departments of UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra, as well as from many PSUs and insurance companies. They also falsely claimed that film actors would be “star guests” at the two-day event, which was to be held at a five-star hotel in Bandra. The event was to be held at the hotel Taj Lands End in Bandra, with permission from Bandra police, Bandra traffic division, and Rangbhoomi Prayog Parinirikshan Mandal (Scrutiny Board, Government of Maharashtra).
The complainant in the case, Sameer Pandurang Dixit, 57, who is the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s film union, said that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award has been organized annually by the Government of India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the past 40 years. In 2024, actor Mithun Chakraborty won the award. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest honour in the field of cinema, presented by the Government of India at the National Film Awards. It is given specifically for outstanding contributions to the growth and development of Indian cinema.
The Bandra police have booked Anil Mishra, director of International Tourism Pvt Ltd, and his son Abhishek, for allegedly hosting the DPIFF Award—a copycat version of the acclaimed Dadasaheb Phalke Award. According to the FIR, the Mishras secured sponsorship from the tourism departments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, and Maharashtra, as well as from private companies, nationalised banks, and insurance companies for the event. They were also selling tickets for the event on ‘BookMyShow’ for Rs 2.5 lakh per couple.
Speaking with mid-day, the complainant, Dixit said, “The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s biggest honour. But this company is organizing a similar event—claiming it is part of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award—where they are giving awards to actors in flop films. They were to hold the event at the five-star Taj Lands End on February 19-20 and had invited a number of celebrities.”
According to Dixit, on May 30, 2024, Anil visited the Bandra police station and secured permission to organise the DPIFF Award function at Taj Lands End. The duo also obtained an NOC from the Bandra traffic division on May 27. “Then on June 10, they obtained permission from the Rangbhoomi Prayog Parinirikshan Mandal to organise the award function. They also did promotions for the event and planned to give gifts to attendees,” Dixit explained.
According to the FIR, Anil posted photos on Instagram and websites claiming that the president, prime minister, home minister, former prime minister—late Manmohan Singh, as well as Tourism Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, were supporting the event and had sent their best wishes for the award function. Anil also mentioned on Instagram that the award was “supported by” the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya and used its logo.
He used the ‘Satyamev Jayate’ logo and claimed he was a member of the Consultative Committee of the Food Corporation of India, even creating visiting cards with this claim. However, according to the FIR, he is not a member of the committee.
Dixit told mid-day: “On August 21, 2024, they submitted an application to the Registrar of Companies to shut down the company. Since 2016, Anil has been organizing this award and misusing the names of government agencies to conduct this event. He not only cheated the government but also cheated people by selling passes for the event on BookMyShow, which are available even today.”
Senior Inspector Sanjay Marathe from Bandra police station said, “We have registered an FIR under sections 318-4 (cheating, dishonestly inducing someone to deliver property) and 319-2 (cheating by personation) of BNS against Anil Mishra and Abhishek Mishra. We have not arrested anyone in this case. We will take action after investigations.” mid-day tried to contact Anil and Abhishek but they didn’t respond to calls and text messages. BookMyShow and Taj Lands End refused to comment on the issue.
Phalke’s grandson reacts…
Dadasaheb Phalke’s grandson Chandrashekhar Pusalkar, 74, the son of Phalke’s younger daughter Vrinda, told mid-day, “Now that the FIR is lodged and it has become a police matter, the festival cannot happen.”
Chandrashekhar admits that the organizers of DPIFF used to consult him and ask him for suggestions. “They had a committee. I didn’t know much about the other things. DPIFF was doing it at a very high level. There are other small NGOs as well who do it but I stopped going there because it is not good to go to all events using my grandfather’s name. Some are not using his name properly, there are malpractices.
We are helpless actually. The government must have registrations of all these NGOs. They are all registered, so they [the government] should have asked why is the Phalke name coming up again and again. The government shouldn’t permit these things. Dadasaheb Phalke is a common name… there must be around seven to eight (awards and festivals). There are so many of which I have also not heard about. People keep telling me that there are many such awards and functions in the name of my grandfather. But I don’t have anything under my control. I don’t have the strength—age-wise and or financial—to take action against them. We are old people… we also fear that if we take action, what if someone harms us?”
According to Chandrashekhar, this is because there is a lot of money in organizing these events. “We appeal to the government to take some action. They should audit all these NGOs organizing things in the name of Phalke and decide who should go ahead with these awards and who shouldn’t.”
“It is very frustrating for us as a family. People ask me if these awards are fake but how can I say if they are genuine or fake? I cannot comment on it as I have not seen their papers. People took us for granted saying ‘his grandson has come for the award so everything is transparent’. But I had just gone as a guest, I don’t know what they are doing, where they are from or where they are raising the funds from,” he added.
However, Chandrashekhar says he attended an award in the name of Dadasaheb Phalke in Bangalore because it recognizes talent in Kannada cinema. He said, “It was done by veterans in the Kannada industry so I was very happy. That way there could be some awareness about Phalke’s work.”
When asked for clarity on how he has been associated with DPIFF, he said, “I have attended it (the event). I have been attending it for many years since 2018. I have been going as a jury president.”
– Komal RJ Panchal
Chandrashekhar Pusalkar