A day after the indianexpress.com reported that Pooja Entertainment is yet to pay dues to actors and crew, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) president BN Tiwari said veteran film producer Vashu Bhagnani owes over Rs 65 lakh to crew members who worked on three of his films Mission Raniganj, Ganapath, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, according to PTI.
Bhagnani’s company Pooja Entertainment owes Rs 33.13 lakh to director Tinu Desai, who helmed their 2023 film Mission Raniganj, Tiwari said. PTI further reported the production house owes Rs 31.78 lakh to over 250 set workers who worked on movies like Akshay Kumar starrer Mission Raniganj, Tiger Shroff starrer Ganpath, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
In a complaint filed on March 19, 2023 to Indian Film & Television Director’s Association (IFTDA), Desai said he worked on Mission Raniganj from February 2022 to October 2023 and the amount he was supposed to receive as per the contract was Rs 4.35 crore but he had received only Rs 3.73 crore.
“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.
He added, “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.”
“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 said.
As per the report, there are about 250 workers, part of Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union, who are yet to receive payment of Rs 31.78 lakh from Pooja Entertainment.
“There are three to four categories of workers who construct a set, they usually receive somewhere between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,400 per day. The pending dues of a single worker could range between Rs 10,000 to 20,000 or more,” Maurya of Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union, told PTI.
FWICE general secretary Ashok Dubey told PTI that it has been a while since the release of Mission Raniganj, Ganapath and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan but workers payment is still held up. “The workers are helpless. The artist receives money first, but not our workers. It is heartbreaking to see the condition of the workers in the industry; they don’t have job guarantee here. Even when they get to work on a project, they don’t receive the money on time. They have to wait endlessly for months to get their hard earned money,” Dubey said.
Last week, several crew members accused Pooja Entertainment of non-payment of dues and laying off the majority of its staff. In a media statement, Bhagnani had said people who are claiming that Pooja Entertainment owes them money should come forward and talk to the team than ranting on social media.
According to multiple sources indianexpress.com spoke to, actor Arjun Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar and Rakul Preet Singh (actor and wife of Jackky Bhagnani) starrer Mere Husband Ki Biwi is the production which has been facing the wrath of several unpaid crew members, who are awaiting their full payment despite the production being completed in 2022.
