Meet producer of Akshay Kumar's Rs 300 crore box office disaster, has built and sold 45 buildings in Mumbai, owns a two-acre studio in London, he is…
In the unpredictable world of Bollywood, fame is always fleeting. While one picture can turn an actor into an overnight star, continuous failures at the box office can also jeopardize careers. But sometimes it's not the star but often the people behind the camera who find themselves at the centre of controversy due to multiple box office failures. One such similar tale is of
Vashu Bhagnani, who has witnessed repeated disappointment with Akshay Kumar at the box office. Even though Akshay has stayed afloat, the producer Vashu Bhagnani has reportedly hit his rock bottom after back-to-back flops made under his banner.
Actor Akshay Kumar and Vashu Bhagnani have witnessed a hard run in the past with several flops to their name. Recently, Akshay Kumar's latest film, Housefull 5, did decently well, but the film had a massive star cast to share the credit for the success. Before that, Kesari Chapter 2, did moderately well, as did the action movie Sky Force. But neither of them was a hit. Before this, several of his films made under Vashu Bhagnani's Pooja Entertainment failed at the box office, like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (BMCM), Mission Raniganj, and Bell Bottom. Vashu Bhagnani at the centre of controversy
Pooja Entertainment hasn't delivered a major hit in decades. As per the reports, BMCM was made on a whopping budget of Rs. 300 crores; however, it only earned Rs. 100 crores. Many people who worked for BMCM have claimed that they haven't received money for their services yet. Another film, Ganapath, made under the same banner, also turned out to be a big flop, earning less than Rs. 20 crore. Some members claimed they hadn't been paid, and rumours swirled that Bhagnani was facing bankruptcy. Vashu Bhagnani in Real Estate and More
In a recent YouTube interview, Vashu Bhagnani spoke about backlash and revealed the truth about his business ventures. 'I went to London in 2018, and I wondered what to do. So, I bought a building in Mayfair. Then, I made five or six movies there… I'm a developer. I don't believe in making money by investing your own money in projects. I make buildings like I make films… I'm the only person from Bollywood who has set up a studio in London. We have two floors with 60-foot high ceilings. It's a two-acre property, I have a VFX set-up there, I have vanity vans there.'
He further added, 'I can't even speak English properly. When I was going to London, my daughter told me, 'What will you do there? You can't even speak English properly, and you won't understand what they're saying. I said, 'Let me try'. As soon as I landed, I set up a studio there. I made two buildings, and I made six films in five years. I used to make one building and one film, one building and one film. I've made 45 buildings in Mumbai so far, and they've all been sold. But I never sold the IP of my films. I still own my movies…'
Addressing bankruptcy rumours, he said, 'I was very upset by those stories. Imagine that I was actually bankrupt and I'd sold off my building. If I had actually sold it off, it would've been to pay people back, right? What's wrong with that? I'm not a corporate employee, I'm doing business. If I suffer a loss, I will have to make up for it. But people spun this into a negative story. They said I've run away, that I don't have money for food, that I couldn't even afford flight tickets.'
Despite the setbacks in film, Bhagnani is active in his business and his film IPs. His story is a reminder that in Bollywood, the truth is always more than what meets the eye.
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