Bade Miyan Chote Miyan crew backs Ali Abbas Zafar amid producers' fund misappropriation allegations

In Pic: Ali Abbas Zafar.

Recently, Ali Abbas Zafar joined the list of people who filed a complaint against the production house, Pooja Entertainment, for non-payment of dues. In retaliation to the complaint, the production house filed a counterclaim against director/producer Ali Abbas Zafar and partner Himanshu Mehra, who have a very clean track record, accusing them of trying to malign their image. They've stated that Zafar, along with Mehra and finance head Ekesh Ranadive, misappropriated the subsidy funds they received from Abu Dhabi authorities during the shoot of the film.

‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' crew members supported Ali Abbas Zafar

As soon as the news spread, ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' crew members took to social media to state that the accusations against Ali Abbas Zafar are false. Khalid, who worked as an actor in 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan', shared that he, like many crew members of the film, had to "beg" Pooja Entertainment for his payment. He said he also spoke to Jackky Bhagnani regarding the payment, but after assurances that he would be paid, the actor-producer "blocked" him.

"In such a situation, it was only the team at AAZ Films who would always answer the calls and reassure me that I would be paid. The team at AAZ Films paid us and cleared our dues," he stated, adding that he wouldn't have spoken about it if false accusations hadn't been made against Zafar.

Action director Parvez Shaikh wrote, "The accusation on @AAZFILMS is completely baseless. I have been working with Ali Abbas Zafar since 2014 and have never faced any issues with payment. They are people of their word when it comes to business. Finally, after the subsidy money from Abu Dhabi for the film 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' was released, my dues were cleared. I'd like to thank the team from AAZ Films and especially Ali Abbas Zafar and Himanshu Mehra, who cleared all my payments and the wages for the hardworking stuntmen through the Movie Stunt Artist Association."

He further said that his expensive equipment, which was taken to London for the shoot of 'BMCM', is still held by the studio. "We haven't gotten any response about when we are going to get them back. We've worked on another project named 'Eagle' with Pooja Entertainment in India, and to date, we haven't received payments for worker wages and equipment," he concluded.

Film editor Steven Bernard said that his payment was delayed for over five months after 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' was released. "I had a very urgent and serious family emergency with my father's hospitalization for over two months and needed funds. I followed up regularly, but there was no breakthrough. Throughout, AAZ Films were supportive and assured me that I would receive my remuneration. Finally, this week, after the subsidy from Abu Dhabi was released, thanks to the team from AAZ Films, I received the last installment in full," he expressed.

As per reports, celebrity choreographer Bosco Martis' dues were also paid from the Abu Dhabi subsidy. Apart from the above, multiple HODs and assistants have also posted their experiences on 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan', supporting Ali Abbas Zafar on social media.

FWICE talked about filmmaker Vashu Bhagnani

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) revealed that filmmaker Vashu Bhagnani owes a huge amount of money to the crew members who worked on their three films - 'Mission Raniganj', 'Ganapath', and 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'. The federation said that despite multiple reminders, the production house didn't clear the dues. IFTDA president Ashoke Pandit and FWICE president B.N. Tewari are monitoring the matter closely.

Yesterday, producer Vashu Bhagnani also accused OTT platform Netflix of non-payment of dues, to which a Netflix spokesperson has called these claims unfounded.