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Recently, Dainik Bhaskar had revealed that the founder of Pooja Entertainment and famous film producer Vasu Bhagnani has withheld Rs 7.3 crore of film director Ali Abbas Zafar.
In its investigation, Bhaskar found that Ali had also filed a complaint against Vasu in the Directors Association.
Now the news of Dainik Bhaskar has had an impact and the crew members of the film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan have started getting their stuck money. However, this money has not been paid by Vasu Bhagnani's company Pooja Films but by Ali Abbas Zafar. On this matter, many artists associated with the film have spoken in favor of Ali.
Not Vasu Bhagnani, but Ali Abbas Zafar paid the money
In fact, recently Vasu had also accused Ali of misusing the subsidy funds received during the shooting of the film in Abu Dhabi. Now the crew members and artists who have come forward have said that Ali has paid our dues from the subsidy money.
The name of the film's action director Parvez Sheikh is also included in this. He thanked Ali Abbas Zafar and Himanshu Mehra on social media and wrote, Ali Abbas Zafar and Himanshu Mehra have paid all my payments through the Movie Stunt Artist Association from the subsidy received from Abu Dhabi for the film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
Steven Bernard, who was the editor of the film, said, while working on Pooja Films' film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, we all faced a common problem which was related to payment. While working day and night on a project, everyone thinks that they should get their fees in full on time, but in the end when a lot of money is pending and the money is stuck for five months after the release of the film, then it becomes a problem. I did a lot of follow-ups because I needed money due to my father's ill health. During this time, Ali Abbas Zafar supported me and assured me that I would get my wages. Finally, within a week of receiving subsidy from Abu Dhabi, Ali Abbas Zafar Films has paid me my entire dues.
Apart from these two artists, about 10 crew members thanked Ali Abbas Zafar and his team on social media for paying the dues. These include the names of Khalid (actor), Shaurya Kohli (assistant director), Diksha Pradhan (assistant director), Saurabh Kumar (associate director), Sahab (actor), Anurag Pandey (associate editor), Malvika Bajaj (costume designer), Rohed Khan (actor) and Markin (DOP). According to reports, it has come to light that choreographer Bosco Martis has also been paid his dues from Abu Dhabi subsidy.
According to sources, the dues of around 150 vendors, technicians and crew members will be paid by the end of this week.
On this issue, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) President B.N. Tiwari said, Dainik Bhaskar has a huge contribution in the campaign to pay the dues to the artists associated with the film. We shared information related to this matter with them which they raised prominently. Many times we were also pressured not to share any information in this matter but we knew that the money of many people is stuck, so the Federation of Western India Cine Employees did not sit quiet and now the payments have started getting cleared, so it is a matter of happiness.
Founder and producer of Pooja Entertainment Vasu Bhagnani with son Jacky Bhagnani.
Vasu Bhagnani was accused in July
In July 2024, news came about the country's famous filmmaker Vasu Bhagnani that he had not paid Rs 65 lakh to the crew members working in his film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
FWICE President BN Tiwari had said that Vasu Bhagnani has withheld Rs 7.3 crore of director Ali Abbas Zafar. He has also not paid Rs 27 lakh to Mission Raniganj director Tinu Desai. Ali Abbas had also filed a complaint with the Directors Association regarding this.
Vasu had gone to lodge a police complaint against Ali
After this, Vasu also accused director Ali of misusing the subsidy funds received from Abu Dhabi authorities during the shooting of the film 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'. Vasu also went to the police to lodge a complaint against Ali in this matter, but his FIR was not registered.