Bade Miyan Chote Miyan director Ali Abbas Zafar accuses Vashu Bhagnani of non-payment of Rs 7.30 crores, report

In Pics: Ali Abbas Zafar

It looks like the troubles for Pooja Entertainment are not ending soon. After several artists and crew members raised issues regarding non-payment of dues after Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, it is now the director of the film, Ali Abbas Zafar, who has raised similar concerns against Vashu Bhagnani, the owner of Pooja Entertainment.

As per a report in Dainik Bhaskar, Zafar has approached the Directors' Association to raise a concern regarding the non-payment of about Rs 7.30 crores from Pooja Entertainment. On July 31st, the Directors' Association escalated the matter by writing to the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees, but Pooja Entertainment firmly denied all such claims by Zafar.

They reportedly noted, "The dues claimed do not constitute a legitimate claim and are liable to various set-offs, as informed to us by BMCM Films Ltd." FWICE has now asked Abbas to provide detailed proof supporting his claims of non-payment.

About the claims against Pooja Entertainment:

A couple of crew members who worked on projects backed by Pooja Entertainment took to Instagram to call out the production house for not clearing their payments on time. They wrote detailed posts about having to wait years for their payment and criticized the behavior of a major production house.

A crew member named Ruchita Kamble took to Instagram and shared her ordeal of working with them. She also shared screenshots of other people's grievances.

She wrote, "Not the one to ever make such posts, but sometimes people need to be ousted! Seeing my team and the crew I worked with struggle day in and day out to just get hold of our own hard-earned money has compelled me to make this post. Read the sheer frustration of these young girls who have beautifully stated the absolute disregard @pooja_ent has and the sheer unprofessional, unethical behavior that we all have been tolerating for way too long."

Did Pooja Entertainment sell the Juhu office to repay dues?

After multiple accusations against the production house, several media reports stated that the Pooja Entertainment office premises in Juhu, Mumbai, were sold off to clear a debt of Rs 250 crores. The production house was also accused of non-payment of dues and laying off 80% of its staff.

Now, addressing all these rumors, Vashu Bhagnani says, "The building (office space) that people are talking about hasn't been sold to anyone, it belongs to me even now. We are only redeveloping it into a tower that will house luxury homes. This was planned 1.5 years ago. I was waiting for 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' to release after which we wanted to start the redevelopment."