Single screens in Maharashtra outside Mumbai have been manipulating collections of Ek Villain, showing only 20 per cent of the real figure, claims the film's distributor Anil Thadani. When some theatres in UP and Bihar also started to report low numbers, the distributor decided to investigate the matter. He swung into action and caught the offenders red-handed.

When contacted, Thadani said: “We were not convinced about the collection figures reported from some of the centres outside the city. The film is done well across India, yet from certain some pockets, the box-office returns were far less than what we expected. So I sent my men to the theatres to check and my suspicion proved right."

Mirror also has it that the producer of Ek Villain, Ekta Kapoor, pulled the film out from these theatres on Thursday morning. While Ekta endorsed the story, Tanuj Garg (CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures) told Mirror, “We stand by the decision taken by our distributor. If someone is misreporting collections, there is no reason for us to continue screening our film in that theatre."

Talking about the racket, leading distributor Hemant Shah said: “Frankly, I am not surprised. This practice is rampant in single screens. Multiplexes cannot indulge in any hanky-panky because the computerised booking system records the number of tickets sold."

“Thadani's team may soon file a police complaint in this regard," said a source close to the film.