Producer Vashu Bhagnani’s financial woes seem to be far from over. The producer has now accused streaming platform Netflix India of allegedly ‘cheating’ him of Rs 47.37 crore (Rs 470 million approx).
While speaking to the Economic Times, the head of Pooja Entertainment claimed that he hadn’t received the money that Netflix owed him. However, the OTT platform claims otherwise.
According to the Economic Times report, Vashu claimed that the OTT platform ‘cheated and conspired against the rights’ of his three recent films – Hero No 1, Mission Raniganj and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
He filed a complaint against Los Gatos Production Services India, through which Netflix reports its content investments in India, Zoo Digital India and against executives of both companies.
The report also claimed that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has summoned the production services firm.
Meanwhile, Netflix has issued a statement to the press denying Bhagnani’s allegation. Instead, the OTT platform has claimed that Pooja Entertainment owes them money.
The statement reportedly reads, “These claims are completely unfounded. Indeed, it’s Pooja Entertainment that owes Netflix money. We have a strong track record of partnership with the Indian creative community and are working with the authorities to resolve this dispute.”
A civil dispute has been reportedly registered by Netflix against the production house for non-payment.
Recent controversies around Pooja Entertainment
Producer Vashu Bhagnani has been embroiled in a feud over late and non-payments to the crew of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan – a film that his banner has produced. The film’s director Ali Abbas Zafar has alleged that the production company owes him Rs 7.30 crores (Rs 730 million). Meanwhile Vashu and his son Jackky Bhagnani, who runs Pooja Entertainment with him, reportedly filed a complaint against the director for allegedly syphoning funds. They also filed complaints for extortion, coercion, and defamation.
Some crew members have also alleged that the production house is yet to pay them for their work on the film. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan featured Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff and was declared a flop at the box office earlier this year.