Bollywood film producer Vashu Bhagnani owes crew members more than 650,000 rupees, says FWICE

Federation of Western India Cinema Employees (FWICE) president BN Tiwari on Friday said veteran film producer Vashu Bhagnani owes over Rs 65 lakh to the crew members who worked on three of his movies. Raniganj Mission, Ganapathe And Bad Miyan Chote Miyan.

Bhagnanis Pooja Entertainment owes Rs 33.13 lakh to director Tinu Desai, who helmed their 2023 film, Raniganj MissionTiwari said. The film was directed by Akshay Kumar.

The production house owes Rs 31.78 lakh to over 250 set workers who worked on films like Raniganj MissionTiger Shroffs Ganpath (2023), and Akshay Kumar and Shroffs Bad Miyan Chote Miyan (2024), Tiwari added.

Bhagnani was not available for comment. In a complaint filed on March 19, 2023, with the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association (IFTDA), Desai said he worked on Raniganj Mission from February 2022 to October 6, 2023 (release date of the film) and the amount to be received as per the contract was Rs 4,03,50,000 and he has received only Rs 3,70,36,092 so far.

A written complaint was filed by the director of Raniganj Mission regarding non-payment of his dues of Rs 33.13 lakh from Vashu Bhagnani last year in March. We followed up with Pooja Entertainment but they still haven't made the payment. They said that by the end of July, they would clear the dues, Tiwari told PTI.

Desai declined to comment when contacted by PTI. According to the FWICE president, IFTDA wrote several letters to Pooja Entertainment, but they continued to delay payment.

In February, they sought time to pay citing Jackky Bhagnani's marriage through an email dated February 20, 2024 to IFTDA and later they did not respond. After FWICE wrote them a letter in March 2024, they again sought time to make the payment saying they would do so after the release of their film, Bad Miyan Chote Miyanagain, this did not happen, Tiwari said.

What they are doing is unfair, they are living a luxurious life and when it comes to paying their dues, they are making excuses. In their last email, they said that they will settle their dues by the end of July, but if they do not, our workers will not work on any of their films, he added.

Around 200 to 250 workers, who are part of the Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor union, are yet to receive payment of Rs 31,78,327 from Pooja Entertainment, said Rakesh Maurya, a union leader.

There are three to four categories of workers who build a set, they usually get between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,400 per day. The pending dues of a single worker could range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 or more, Maurya of Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union told PTI.

They have around 48,000 daily wage earners in different departments like the set department, lighting and spot boys. FWICE general secretary Ashok Dubey told PTI that it has been some time since the publication of Raniganj Mission, Ganapathy And Bad Miyan Chote Miyan but the payment of workers is still delayed.

The workers are helpless. The artist gets the money first, but not our workers. It is heartbreaking to see the situation of the industry workers; they have no job security here. Even when they get to work on a project, they do not get the money on time. They have to wait endlessly for months to get their hard-earned money, Dubey said.

Last week, several team members accused Pooja Entertainment of non-payment of dues and dismissal of the majority of its staff. In a statement to the media, Bhagnani had said that people claiming that Pooja Entertainment is yet to clear their dues should initiate a conversation with the banner.

“If there are people claiming we owe them money, they should come forward and talk to us. Do they have a formal contract with Pooja Entertainment? Did they file a complaint about this? There are so many ways to solve this problem rather than ranting on social media,” he said, dismissing reports that his production banner was closing.

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Dubey said that workers should be paid first. In Marathi films, there is a rule that if workers do not get their daily wages from the producers, the censor certificate will not be issued to the producers, we want the same rule, he added.

Pooja Entertainment has produced hits such as Coolie No. 1, Hero #1Amitabh Bachchan and Govindas Bad Miyan Chote Miyan, What to say?, Love is the land of my heart, Om Jai JagadishAnd Marriage number. 1among others in the past, but their latest releases have not worked at the box office.