This producer faced Rs 250 crore debt after a film’s failure, had to sell his office and fire most of his staff
There were murmurs within the film industry that a leading production house in Bollywood was struggling with its finances after a major box office debacle. The murmurs grew louder as more crew members from the producer’s last film alleged non-payment. Finally, this weekend, news reports confirmed it. There was a massive Rs 250 crore debt and at the heart of it, was a huge flop that lost hundreds of crores at the box office.
The film that put its producer in Rs 250-crore debt
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, the Ali Abbas Zafar directorial, was a critical and commercial failure. The reviews were bad and the opening was lacklustre. The negative word of mouth after that ensured that the final box office collections were dismal. Made on a budget of Rs 350 crore, the film had a worldwide gross of just Rs 90 crore. A new report in Bollywood Hungama has claimed that the film’s failure has meant that Vashu Bhagnani of Pooja Entertainment, the producer of the film, has incurred Rs 250 crore debt.
Pooja Entertainment’s woes after Bade Miyan Chote Miyan flop
Bollywood Hungama report says that the box office failure of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan left Pooja Entertainment poorer by at least Rs 125-150 crore. Added to the failure of previous films from the production house meant that Vashu had a reported debt of Rs 250 crore. To recover that, the producer reportedly sold his seven-floor office in Mumbai, and also laid off 80% of the company’s employees last week. The company is reportedly shifting base to a two-bedroom flat now.
Non payment allegations on Pooja Entertainment
Several crew members, who were part of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, have alleged that they are yet to be paid for their work on the film. There have been social media posts about this but the producers have not commented on it. A Hindustan Times report has claimed that even the actors – including Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Manushi Chhillar, and Alaya F – have not received their full remuneration for the film. However, there is total silence from the stars.
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