Bollywood film producer Vashu Bhagnani owes over Rs 65 lakh to his team members, says FWICE

Mumbai, Jun 29 (PTI) Federation of Western India Cinema Employees (FWICE) president BN Tiwari said veteran film producer Vashu Bhagnani owes over Rs 65 lakh to crew members who worked on three of his films Mission Raniganj, Ganapath and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.

Bhagnanis' company Pooja Entertainment owes Rs 33.13 lakh to director Tinu Desai, who directed their 2023 film Mission Raniganj, Tiwari said on Friday. The film was headlined by Akshay Kumar.

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

Bhagnani could not be reached for comment.

In a complaint filed on March 19 with the Indian Film and Television Directors Association (IFTDA), Desai said that he had worked on Mission Raniganj from February 2022 to October 6, 2023 (the release date of the film) and the amount receivable 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 Mission Raniganj 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 have not made the payment yet. 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, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, again it did not happen, Tiwari said.

What they are doing is unfair, they live a luxurious life and when it comes to paying their dues, they find excuses. In their last email, they said that they will clear the dues by the end of July, but if they don't, 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 the payment of Rs 31,78,327 from Pooja Entertainment, claimed Rakesh Maurya, a union leader.

There are three to four categories of workers who build a set, they generally receive between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,400 per day. The pending dues of a single worker could range between Rs 10,000 and 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 set department, scouts and spot boys.

FWICE general secretary Ashok Dubey told PTI that it had been some time since the release of Mission Raniganj, Ganapath and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan but payment of workers was still pending.

The workers are powerless. The artist gets money first, but not our workers. It is heartbreaking to see the condition of industrial workers; they don't have a job guarantee here. Even when they work on a project, they do not receive the money on time. They have to wait for endless months to get their hard-earned money back, Dubey said.

Last week, several team members accused Pooja Entertainment of not paying their dues and laying off most of its staff.

In a statement to the media, Bhagnani had said that people claiming that Pooja Entertainment has not yet settled their dues should initiate a conversation with the banner.

“If there are people who are claiming that we owe them money, they should come forward and talk to us. Do they have a proper contract with Pooja Entertainment? Have they filed a case regarding this? There are so many ways to resolve this issue rather than ranting on social media,” he had said, dismissing reports that his production banner was shutting down.

Dubey said the workers should get the payment as soon as possible.

In Marathi films, there is a rule that if the 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 No. 1, Amitabh Bachchan and Govindas Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Kucch Kehna Hai, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, Om Jai Jagadish and Shaadi No. 1, among others in the past, but their last releases did not work at the box office.