Balaji Motion Pictures Accused of Non-Payment of Dues to Vendors Despite Bhooth Bangla's Success

Ekta Kapoor took to her Instagram handle on Wednesday to heap praises on lead actor Akshay Kumar, director Priyadarshan, and other primary cast members of her latest production, Bhooth Bangla , which has earned over Rs 211 crore worldwide since its release last month on April 17. She thanked them individually, and expressed gratitude to Priyadarshan for giving her career’s biggest hit yet. However, many vendors associated with the film have accused the production house over non-payment of dues, as per a report in Mid-day. Vendors who worked on Bhooth Bangla have alleged non-payment of dues even though the film has released and become a hit at the box office. While one of them claimed they haven’t been paid dues worth Rs 30 lakh, another alleged non-payment of their dues of Rs 18 lakh. As per the report, such long delays in payment of dues has become quite rampant these days. Once the film releases, it becomes even more difficult to extract the money the production house owes to the crew. The norm of 90-day clearance of invoices is no longer being followed religiously. In fact, another vendor went on to allege that the cast and the primary crew are prioritised when it comes to payment, while the others are left hanging for months. Amid all this, Balaji Motion Pictures has claimed that they have cleared all dues. “Balaji Telefilms Limited has fulfilled all its contractual payment obligations in relation to various projects undertaken by the company,” it said. Earlier this week, Nikhil Pai, who was a second camera operator on Bejoy Nambiar’s romantic thriller Tu Yaa Main, tagged the production house, Aanand L Rai’s Colour Yellow Productions, on his Instagram Stories, and wrote, “Congratulations on the theatre and Netflix release. Please clear the invoices. It’s beyond due… if you reply to calls and emails that would be much appreciated.” The film, starring Adarsh Gourav and Shanaya Kapoor, released in cinemas on February 13 and on Netflix India last month on April 10. A source at Colour Yellow Productions told SCREEN, “We’re on it. Payment comes in trenches, and he’s yet to receive the last trench. Sometimes, it takes longer for the due process to be followed because there are hundreds of crew members involved in a film who have to be paid. He’s just not received 8% of his total payment. And we haven’t received any communication from him yet. Others, who are waiting for their dues to be cleared, are in touch.” While delayed payment of dues on a film set isn’t a new menace, it’s been getting a lot more common these days. Ali Abbas Zafar, director of the 2024 action thriller Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, accused producer Vashu Bhagnani’s Pooja Entertainment of non-payment of Rs 7.30 crore. He reached out to the FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees), which had also received similar complaints from the film’s actors like Tiger Shroff, Sonakshi Sinha, and Alaya F. It also claimed a total sum of Rs 65 lakh hadn’t been paid to the crew members. While Pooja Entertainment denied some of these claims, arguing that the dues are subject to set-offs, it was further accused by some staff members, who had to sell their houses or encounter issues with clearing hospital bills because of the non-payment of their dues. Also Read — Riddhima Kapoor on being the oldest debutant of her family at 45: ‘My father is always blessing me’ Headlined by Akshay Kumar and Shroff, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was made on a massive budget of Rs 350 crore. However, it could only earn Rs 100 crore at the box office.