Producer Vashu Bhagnani has found himself in trouble again. This time it is the turn of a filmmaker, who had been accused of non-payment by director Ali Abbas Zafar, has claimed that he has been cheated by Netflix India. The Pooja Entertainment head asserted that he is yet to received Rs. 47.37 crore from the streaming giant.
In an interview to The Economic Times, the producer accused the OTT platform of ‘cheating and conspiring against the rights’ of his last three films: Hero No 1, Mission Raniganj, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. He also lodged a complaint against Los Gatos Production Services India – Netflix’s content investment arm in the country – and Zoo Digital India, along with several top executives from both companies.
The report said the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police had also issued summon to the management executives of Los Gatos Production Services India. The makers of the film also accused Ali Abbas Zafar of not paying his dues after the failure of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Just over a fortnight ago, the director of the film had stated that Vashu had not paid his remuneration of Rs. 7.30 crore.
The Bhagnanis have accused Zafar of committing fraud to the tune of Rs. 9.50 crore and alleged that he was involved in “coercion, criminal breach of trust, extortion, blackmailing, criminal intimidation, harassment, criminal defamation, and money laundering,” alleging that he routed the funds through a shell company in Abu Dhabi.
