As a dedicated follower of the Bollywood industry with over two decades of experience, I must express my deep concern and disappointment towards Vashu Bhagnani’s current situation. The repeated instances of non-payment to filmmakers, artists, daily wage workers, technicians, and vendors are not only unprofessional but also detrimental to the very fabric of our industry.
Over several months now, Vashu Bhagnani’s production company, Pooja Entertainment, is yet to clear dues towards filmmakers, artists, and daily wage workers. In June, it was reported that Bhagnani was grappling with a debt of approximately 250 crores as his films like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Mission Raniganj, and Ganapath underperformed at the box office.
Lately, directors Ali Abbas Zafar and Tinu Desai have submitted grievances over unpaid fees from the film’s producer. The Film Writers Association of India (FWICE) is now encouraging Vashu Bhagnani to settle these pending payments.
On September 22, 2024, the Western India Film Workers Federation (FWIF) released a statement addressing their grievances about unpaid funds from Vashu Bhagnani. FWIF mentioned that there have been rumors swirling around Vashu Bhagnani concerning delayed or non-payment of wages to technicians, laborers, artists, and suppliers. The union has since confirmed that they have received the related complaints.
According to the report, Director Tinu Desai, who was in charge of the film “Mission Raniganj” featuring Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra last year, submitted a claim for unpaid wages. However, despite repeated inquiries about his case, there has been no new information regarding the remaining amount owed to him, as stated in the report.
As an ardent admirer, let me share that I’ve learned FWICE has received a grievance from the talented director Ali Abbas Zafar regarding his movie project, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, which graced our screens this year. It appears that Mr. Zafar hasn’t received his “direction fees” for the blockbuster starring the dynamic duo of Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff.
In addition to the film’s poor performance, it appears that both the technical team and suppliers for Vikas Bahl’s movie “Ganapath” have expressed concerns about unpaid fees. The film, starring Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon, has faced difficulties at the box office. Moreover, FSSAMU, a significant organization representing daily wage workers, has also lodged a complaint regarding unpaid wages for their workers.
It has been determined by FWICE that Vashu Bhagnani needs to cover his past due payments to laborers, technicians, artists, and suppliers. As per our review of all contracts, it appears that a substantial sum is owed to these individuals, which the producer in question will be responsible for settling.
FWICE expressed their expectation that Vashu would voluntarily settle the outstanding debts owed to artists, technicians, workers, and other members of the film industry.
According to a previous report from June 2024, BN Tiwari, president of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, stated that Vashu Bhagnani has an outstanding debt of approximately Rs 33.13 lakh to Tinu Suresh Desai, who directed Mission Raniganj. As per their contract, Tinu was paid Rs 3,70,36,092 out of the promised Rs 4,03,50,000 by Vashu’s production company, Pooja Entertainment. However, despite repeated efforts by the federation, Vashu Bhagnani’s production house has yet to settle this debt.
The same report implied that producer Vashu Bhagnani had yet to pay the wages of approximately 250 workers who contributed to his film projects. Back then, he allegedly owed these workers a total of INR 31.78 lakh for their work on the sets of three films: Mission Raniganj, Ganapath, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
To put it simply, Vashu Bhagnani established Puja Entertainment India Ltd. in 1995. It was during this year that he also started his production journey with the film Coolie No. 1. Besides Coolie No. 1, Vashu has supported a number of other movies such as Hero No. 1 (1997), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (2002), Om Jai Jagadish (2002), and Shaadi No. 1 (2005).
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2024-09-23 20:23