A day after several vendors associated with the film Bhooth Bangla accused the filmmakers of not making pending payments despite the film’s huge success, Balaji Telefilms has issued an official statement strongly rejecting the accusations.
The production company confirmed that all financial obligations related to the film have already been fulfilled.Addressing the controversy, the company said: “Referring to several recent media reports and social media posts regarding certain allegations of unpaid dues by Balaji Telefilms Limited for the film Bhooth Bangla, this is to clarify that the company has fulfilled all its contractual payment obligations for the film and there are no unpaid contractual dues and nothing else is due and payable to any vendors contracted by the company for this film for any services rendered to them.
“Reiterating its stance, the statement also said, “Balaji Telefilms Limited, as a leading media organisation, has high regard for all its partners, vendors and creative teams and duly fulfills all its contractual obligations and maintains high standards of corporate governance.”This clarification came on the heels of a Mid-Day report in which several sellers claimed that large payments were still due.
According to the report, one vendor claimed that nearly Rs 30 lakh remained unpaid, while another claimed that dues worth around Rs 18 lakh were yet to be settled.The report also noted that late payment cycles are becoming increasingly common in the film industry. It claimed that the previous rule of clearing invoices within 90 days was no longer followed consistently.Meanwhile, Bhooth Bangla continues to enjoy a strong theatrical run.
The film was released on April 16, and has reportedly crossed Rs 220 crore at the worldwide box office, making the allegations surrounding unpaid dues a bigger point of discussion.It is worth noting that this is not the first time that an Akshay Kumar-themed film has been caught in a controversy over pending payments. Earlier, crew members working on Bade Miyan Chote Miyan were reported to have raised similar complaints. At that time, Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff were said to have personally intervened to ensure the pending dues were settled.
