Earlier this month, reports surfaced claiming that Pooja Entertainment’s office had been sold off due to payment dues of Rs 250 crore following the failure of the production house’s recent projects. However, Vadhu Bhagnani later clarified that the report was baseless and that he hadn’t sold the property. He mentioned that the office was undergoing construction development and nothing else.
BN Tiwari, president of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), has now addressed the issue, stating that the company owes significant dues.
He said, “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 said they would clear the dues by the end of July, but if they don’t, our workers will not work on any of their films.”
Tiwari also mentioned that written complaints had been filed earlier but received no response. According to him, the production house owes Rs 33.13 lakh to Tinu Desai, the director of the Akshay Kumar-led ‘Mission Raniganj,’ which was released last year.
FWICE general secretary Ashok Dubey echoed Tiwari’s concerns, stating that workers are “helpless” in such situations. He said, “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 guarantees 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.”
Additionally, there have been reports that Manushi Chhillar, Tiger Shroff, and Alaya F, who starred in ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan,’ also haven’t received their payments. However, none of the actors have commented on the matter. The film, released in April this year, turned out to be a box office debacle.
Source: PTI
