Those raided include Vashu Bhagnani of Biwi No 1 fame, Ramesh Taurani, owner of Tips Music and Tips Films, and John Mathew Mathan, producer-director of Sarfarosh, some of the most successful men in Bollywood this year.

Sources said among the premises raided was the corporate office of Taurani at Andheri, and residences of the personalities. The raids, which were on till late evening, are likely to continue tomorrow. A voluminous amount of papers were collected by the I-T officers. Several bank lockers have also been sealed.

Others who were raided include Rumi Jaffery, writer of Biwi No 1, reportedly the most successful Hindi movie of 1999, Rahul Nanda, a top-notchpublicity designer and Ganesh, dance director, made famous by Govinda.

Bhagnani, whose banner, Puja Films, has been churning out several chart-busters, (Hero No 1, Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya, Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and of course, Biwi No 1), is definitely the biggest name among those raided today.

The Taurani brothers, Ramesh and Kumar, who made Tips into a market leader, ventured into film production in 1995, and came out with largely successful films -- Auzaar, Soldier and recently, Kache Dhaage. Ramesh Taurani is also an accused in the murder of Gulshan Kumar, owner of T-Series, in August 1997.

Though I-T sources were tight-lipped, the success of these banners certainly brings them under the agencies' spotlight. The last time film producers were searched by the I-T was in 1996.