Mumbai, June 29: Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) president BN Tiwari has said veteran film producer Vashu Bhagnani owes over ` 65 lakh to crew members who worked on three of his films “Mission Raniganj”, “Ganapath” and “Bade Miyan Chote Miyan”.
Bhagnani’s company Pooja Entertainment owes ` 33.13 lakh to director Tinu Desai, who helmed their 2023 film, “Mission Raniganj”, Tiwari said on Friday. The movie was headlined by Akshay Kumar.
The production house owes ` 31.78 lakh to over 250 set workers who worked on movies like “Mission Raniganj”, Tiger Shroff’s “Ganpath” (2023), and Akshay Kumar and Shroff’s “Bade Miyan Chote Miyan” (2024), Tiwari added.
Bhagnani remained unavailable for comment.
In a complaint filed on March 19 to Indian Film & Television Director’s Association (IFTDA), Desai said he worked on “Mission Raniganj” from February 2022 to October 6, 2023 (the release date of the film) and the amount to be received as per the contract was ` 4,03,50,000 and he has only received ` 3,70,36,092 so far.
“A written complaint was filed by the director of ‘Mission Raniganj’ regarding non-payment of his dues of Rs 33.13 lakh from Vashu Bhagnani last year in March. We’ve been following up with Pooja Entertainment but still they haven’t made the payment. They have said by July end they will clear the dues,” Tiwari told PTI.
Desai declined to comment when contacted by PTI.
According to FWICE President, IFTDA has written multiple letters to Pooja Entertainment but they kept delaying the payment.
“In February they sought time to pay citing Jackky Bhagnani’s wedding via an email dated February 20, 2024 to IFTDA and later they didn’t reply. After FWICE wrote them a letter in March 2024, they again sought time to make the payment saying they would do so after the release of their film, ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’, again that has not happened,” Tiwari said.
“This is unfair what they are doing, they are leading a luxurious life, and when it comes to paying the dues they are making excuses. In their latest email, they have said they will clear the dues by July end but if they don’t do so then our workers will not work on any of their films,” he added. (PTI)
