Uttara Kannada, Karnataka – April 9, 2025: A police raid on a rented house in Dandeli town of Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district sparked alarm after bundles of ₹500 denomination notes were discovered. The stash, however, turned out to be “film shooting currency”, not counterfeit legal tender—at least not officially.
The raid was conducted Tuesday evening following a specific tip-off, leading to the seizure of multiple bundles of fake-looking ₹500 notes and a money-counting machine from a residence in Gandhinagar.
At first glance, the notes mimicked real currency but lacked critical features such as:
- No Reserve Bank of India seal
- No signature of the RBI Governor
- No serial numbers
- Instead, the reverse side carried the disclaimer: “For film shooting purposes only”
Curiously, the notes were printed with the words “Reverse Bank of India” and were made of shiny paper with zeroes in place of actual denominations.
“These notes, lacking official identifiers and clearly labelled for theatrical use, do not qualify as fake currency under legal definitions,” a senior police officer told India Today. “However, verification is still pending, and we are looking into how and why such a large quantity was being stored.”
The tenant of the house has been taken into custody for questioning, and further investigation is ongoing to determine if there was any intent to misuse the prop money.
The discovery has raised questions about the procurement and storage of imitation currency, which is commonly used in films but can be misused for deception if not properly regulated.
