Arshad Warsi ‘was not a star’ at that time; Boney Kapoor reacts to actor’s claim of being paid less for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja’s choreography

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Arshad Warsi 'was not a star' at that time; Boney Kapoor reacts to actor's claim of being paid less for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja's choreography

As a long-time admirer of Arshad Warsi’s talent and charisma, I find myself torn between two perspectives in this ongoing saga. On one hand, it is disheartening to hear about an artist feeling underappreciated and underpaid, especially after contributing significantly to the success of a film like Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja. However, as someone who has followed Arshad’s journey from choreographer to actor, I can’t help but wonder if three decades is indeed too long to bring up such an issue.

In the 1990s, Arshad Warsi first appeared on screen with Tere Mere Sapne, but prior to this, he worked as a choreographer in Boney Kapoor’s film, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, which was released in 1993. In a recent interview with Samdish Bhatia, Arshad has faced criticism from some Indian cinema stars. Additionally, he asserted that he was not fairly compensated for his choreography work in the 1993 movie, claiming he was short-changed by Rs 25,000. However, Boney Kapoor, the film’s producer, has responded to Arshad’s allegations about the payment discrepancy, stating that at the time, Arshad was not yet a prominent star.

In a recent conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Boney Kapoor expressed his views on Arshad Warsi’s claim about being underpaid as a choreographer for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja. The filmmaker found it amusing that Arshad only mentioned the 1992 incident from three decades ago in a recent statement.

Reflecting on Arshad’s comments regarding the Anil Kapoor and Sridevi-led film, Boney remarked, “We filmed it back in 1992, yet he is still discussing this today. At that time, he wasn’t a big star.” The producer pondered over how much they might have had to pay him if he were already a prominent figure.

Boney went on to explain that the creators initially thought it would take them four days to finish the dance routine, but song director Pankaj Parashar managed to wrap it up in just three days instead. The producer stated that Arshad was paid a total of Rs 75,000 for his three-day choreography, with each day earning him Rs 25,000.

Boney Kapoor, who worked with Arshad on a TV show later, remembered that Arshad never mentioned this event back then. In fact, Boney described himself as an easy target for such incidents, hinting at the widespread desire for media exposure nowadays.

Upon being asked, filmmaker Pankaj Parashar stated that he didn’t handle the finances and took up directing the track as a goodwill gesture for the producer Boney. Lending his backing to Boney, the song director suggested that the producer was unaware of the payments, initially assuming that Arshad’s recent comment could have been made in jest.

Pankaj Parashar clarified the timeline of the song creation, dismissing Arshad’s assertion that he completed it in just three days. Parashar described Arshad more as an inexperienced choreographer who didn’t oversee the filming process during production.

In a previous conversation with Samdish, Arshad Warsi stated that he asked for one hundred thousand rupees for the four-day shoot. Instead, he received a check for seventy-five thousand rupees. Notably, Arshad Warsi also choreographed the title track for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja.

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2024-08-23 00:52