He earned a living working as a facilitator to film producers, since 2005 – helping them get the necessary certificates required before the release of any film.  But his life turned upside down when he decided to expose the massive corruption in the film certification body.

Whistle-blowers across the country have complained of being harassed and targeted for exposing corruption in the country. Thirty-six-year-old Pravin Mohare’s case is perhaps a classic example, with the former film agent’s career going downhill after he exposed corruption and he’s now being forced to sell vegetables in a Mumbai suburb.

In August 2014, Mohare was being written about and appreciated for his efforts that led to the ouster of Rakesh Kumar, former CEO of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC, commonly referred to as the Censor Board). Mohare, in collusion with the CBI, had pulled a little stunt of acting as a person willing to pay a bribe of Rs 50,000 to Kumar, which helped the CBI catch the offender red-handed. The CBFC immediately suspended Kumar; he was also arrested by the CBI.

At the time, Mohare had been in the business for nearly a decade and was doing well for himself, reportedly earning around Rs 80,000 a month. Shortly after Kumar’s arrest, Mohare was “not welcome” at the CBFC office anymore. Fellow agents and producers shied away from him and stopped giving him work. He was denied access at the board’s office (by blocking his film producer facilitator ID) and, according to him, CBFC officials had deliberately stopped accepting his applications for certification — thus ensuring that there was no way he could continue working as a film agent anymore.

After being jobless for more than nine months, Mohare finally admitted defeat and gave up his dreams. And now, Mohare sits at a small stall in the suburb of Borivali where he sells vegetables to make earn Rs 600 a day in an attempt to make ends meet.

What’s worse is that he’s still to get the Rs 50,000 he had to spend to get the CBFC chairperson caught in the sting. While the CBI had promised it would be refunded in about two months, he’s still to get the money back. He says, “The film industry now treats me like an outcast and I haven’t gotten any work in several months. To make it worse, the CBI is yet to refund me.”

“I am paying a huge price for raising my voice and acting against corruption. I feel sad to see my wife and four-year-old daughter suffer because of my deed,” says Mohare.

The reluctant vegetable vendor has a grim warning for anybody looking to expose corruption. “Though it’s late, but I have learnt my lesson. You are all alone if you are fighting against corruption. No one comes to support you,” he said.