Kochi : The Income Tax department on Friday conducted simultaneous raids on the homes and offices of Malayalam cinema’s two biggest stars, Mammootty and Mohanlal.
The two actors, who are known to have several business interests, are facing IT action for the first time. Our sources tell us that this could well be the first major raid on stars from the Kerala film industry.
Reports coming in suggest that IT sleuths have swooped in on the stars’ offices in Kochi, Bangalore and Chennai. The duo is known to have business interests, with Mohanlal even being touted as a possible owner of an IPL team.
On his part, Mammootty has been active in the films and television, besides owning a distribution company called ‘Playhouse Entertainment’ that has recently bagged the rights to distribute the upcoming film “The King and the Commissioner”.
The actor, who is a qualified lawyer by profession, was also reportedly involved in the ‘Smart City’ project in Kochi. His name came up in this context a few times. He had reportedly associated with Dubai-based businessman MA Yousuf Ali and the Dubai Internet City officials.
His contemporary Mohanlal has several business ventures related to movie production, distribution, restaurants and packaged spices among other things. He owns Maxicab Cinemas and Entertainments, and Vismayas Max, a post-production studio.
His banner ‘Pranavam Arts’ has produced several films while his non-filmi business includes a restaurant chain in Dubai called Mohanlal’s Tastebuds. Additionally, he is said to have stake in the restaurant ‘Travancore Court’ in Kochi and ‘The Harbour’ in Bangalore.