BMCM row: Ali Abbas Zafar charged with 'cheating, criminal conspiracy, and forgery' against Vashu Bhagnani

Ali Abbas Zafar and Vashu Bhagnani

The drama between Ali Abbas Zafar and Vashu Bhagnani is not ending any time soon. The drama has now taken a legal turn, with Vashu Bhagnani filing allegations of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and forgery against Zafar and two others. Now, on the veteran producer's complaint, the Mumbai court has directed the police to lodge a complaint against Ali Abbas Zafar and the other two. Magistrate Komalsing Rajput directed the police to file the criminal case, stating that the charges against them are quite serious.

Bandra magistrate ordered police to file a complaint against Zafar

According to PTI, Bhagnani had moved the Bandra magistrate's court seeking a case against Zafar, who helmed the 2024 movie Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, and two of his associates, Himanshu Mehra and Ekesh Randive, for allegedly cheating him and siphoning off his money. Magistrate Rajput, while passing the order, stated that the offences are cognizable and non-bailable. "The allegations are serious. All the aspects lead to the inference that thorough interrogation seems necessary," the court observed.

The case was registered at the Bandra Police Station under IPC sections 120, 406, 420, 465, 471, 500, and 506. The court noted that the trio lured Bhagnani into paying various amounts from time to time and, in breach of contract, incurred additional expenses without providing any account of these expenses. "The total amount of alleged fraud and cheating in the several transactions is very high. The number of transactions is also very high," the court pointed out.

The report by PTI further suggested that the director and his associates had assured they would submit all expenses for approval, and the cost of production was fixed at Rs 125 crore, which the veteran producer was supposed to pay. However, Bhagnani, in his complaint, stated that the trio defrauded him by submitting forged and fabricated documents showing increased incurred expenses. The complaint further alleged that the trio siphoned off most of the amount by manipulating the accounts.

FWICE talked about filmmaker Vashu Bhagnani

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

(Inputs from PTI)