BMCM's Ronit Roy SLAMS Vashu Bhagnani For Delayed Payment: 'Money Was Supposed To Come From Him But...'

Vashu Bhagnani and the conundrum of payments for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has caught everyone’s attention. After the film’s crew and director Ali Abbas Zafar accused Pooja Entertainment of non-payment of dues, Ronit Roy has also spoken up against the producer and his production house. While Ronit has received some of his payment, he said he received it much later only after the director’s team intervened.

Ronit Roy told Zoom, “I am lucky to have got a large part of my acting fees for my work on Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. The money was supposed to come from Vashu Bhagnani and it came from Vashu Bhagnani, but that happened only after Himanshu Mehra (who works with the BMCM director Ali Abbas Zafar) intervened.”

Ronit said, “When it came to the dues of my staff and my security company that guarded the sets in Mumbai, it was all very much delayed and we got that also due to Himanshu Mehra.” Describing his experience with Pooja Entertainment as “painful”, Ronit Roy said that he would not work with Pooja Entertainment again.

For the unversed, Ali Abbas Zafar accused the Bhagnanis of not paying him Rs 7.30 crores, his fee for directing Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. As reported by Dainik Bhaskar, Zafar filed an official complaint with the Directors’ Association asking them to intervene. Following the complaint, the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) also sent a letter to Vashu Bhagnani, seeking an explanation for the unpaid dues.

However, Pooja Entertainment denied Zafar’s claims and issued a statement which said, “The dues claimed do not constitute a legitimate claim and are liable to various set-offs, as informed to us by BMCM Films Ltd.” Later, FWICE also asked Ali Abbas Zafar to submit proof of his unpaid dues claim.

Vashu Bhagnani and Jackky Bhagnani then filed a complaint against Ali Abbas Zafar for allegedly siphoning the subsidy funds he took from Abu Dhabi authorities during the shoot of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Reportedly, the complaint against Zafar was filed on September 3 and the director is likely to be summoned by the Bandra Police in Mumbai soon.

In their complaint, Bhagnanis alleged fraud of Rs 9.50 crore by Ali Abbas Zafar and accused him of “coercion, criminal breach of trust, extortion, blackmailing, criminal intimidation, harassment, criminal defamation and money laundering”. The complaint further alleged that Zafar used these funds via a shell company in Abu Dhabi.