On Wednesday, the Income Tax Department reportedly searched at filmmaker ‘s Prime Focus Ltd’s office in Mumbai. According to a report by CNBC-TV18, the operations began in the morning.
Reportedly, more searches are also being conducted at locations of those who are linked to the company.
While no official statement has been released by Prime Focus, it is reported that the searches took place in connection with foreign remittances. Clarity on the nature of these alleged transactions is not revealed.
However, the company has reportedly confirmed the raid at their offices.
Prime Focus is a Mumbai-based media and entertainment company. It deals with visual effects, animation and post-production-related work.
Namit Malhotra is an entrepreneur, film producer, and global visual effects executive. He is best known as the CEO of the Academy Award-winning visual effects and animation company British VFX giant Double Negative (DNEG). He has stayed in the news in the last few years for backing the much-awaited big-scale film, Ramayana, starring , Sai Pallavi and Yash.
Malhotra is also the founder of Prime Focus Limited, which he started in his father’s garage in 1997. Over the years, he scaled the company, merging Prime Focus World with DNEG in 2014, under which he helmed the visual effects for major global hits and Oscar-winning films such as Inception, Interstellar, Blade Runner 2049, Tenet, and the Dune series.
Apart from VFX and animation teams, Malhotra has expanded into film production under Prime Focus Studios. He has been involved in high-profile domestic and international projects, such as The Garfield Movie and Ranbir Kapoor’s Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva.
Namit Malhotra comes from a filmy background. He is the eldest son of film producer Naresh Malhotra, who is best known for films like Duniya Meri Jeb Mein (1979), Shahenshah (1988) and Sahari Bagha (1985). This also makes him the grandson of cinematographer MN Malhotra, who worked on Jhansi Ki Rani, one of India’s first colour films.
Namit Malhotra is also among the newcomers on the Hurun India Rich List 2026. Malhotra and his family took the 232nd spot on the global list with an estimated net worth of ₹16,000 crore.
His upcoming film is currently only days away from release. The two-part film will be releasing on Diwali 2026. The second chapter is scheduled to release next year on Diwali as well.
