Vashu Bhagnani says people claimed he was bankrupt, had run away after Bade Miyan Chote Miyan; answers if he's paid everyone: ‘Even if I haven't, what's your problem?'

Indian Express

04-07-2025

Bollywood of the 1990s was dominated by Govinda, who starred in a string of blockbusters directed by David Dhawan. Many of these hit films were produced by Vashu Bhagnani, a real estate developer looking to join the film industry. He now runs Pooja Entertainment, a production banner that most recently attracted controversy over Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, an action film starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff that cost Rs 300 crore to produce but recovered only a third of that amount. Bhagnani has accused the film's director, Ali Abbas Zafar, of misappropriation of funds, and has been accused himself of non-payment of dues.
In a new interview, he addressed these allegations, and said that the period was particularly difficult for him and his family. He told Ronak Kotecha on YouTube, 'I've redeveloped my Juhu office; this is the same building that was in the news. They said I've had to sell it off because I'd gone bankrupt, that I didn't have money to buy food even. They said I'd run away. I don't want to blame anybody for these rumours, but I don't know how they started.'
Also read – Pooja Entertainment actors, crew reveal trauma of unpaid dues, hope Akshay Kumar-Tiger Shroff will step up: 'Had to sell house, plead for money from hospital'
He said that he is building a 15-storey building at the same location. In the same interview, Bhagnani said that he has build and sold 45 buildings over the course of his career, just in Mumbai. He continued, '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 in 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.'
Bhagnani implied that he didn't receive any support from the film industry, but instead, a friend of his in the real estate space encouraged him to pursue opportunities in Dubai. 'I actually thought that some Bollywood person would support me, but no.' Asked if the dust has settled on the controversy now, and that those who've alleged non-payment have been reimbursed, he said, 'Even if they haven't, what's your problem? People have started taking advantage of this. Someone who is owed Rs 10,000 asked for Rs 1 lakh. I've been working in this industry for nearly three decades, I've paid crores to people, nobody spoke up for me.'
He said that he was threatened by someone only a few days ago. 'She said that she will go to the media, and I said, 'Please go'. First they had the courts and the police, now they have the media to rely on. I have no connection with this person. It's not extortion, but they thing they can blackmail rich people with threats.' Bhagnani said that considering everything that he has done for the industry, it is only right to expect the industry to stand up for him. It was reported that even Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff hadn't been paid what they were owed, while co-star Ronit Roy went on the record to say that it was 'painful' to work with Bhagnani.
Speaking about how his family suffered, he said, 'They went through a lot, I salute them. Everywhere we turned, things were said about us.' He admitted that he faced problems in securing loans from banks, because they were under the impression that he wouldn't be able to repay them. 'I took extra explanation for no reason,' Bhagnani said.
In 2024, the Indian Express reported that Bhagnani hasn't paid crew members who worked on several of his projects. Multiple people associated with the banner said that the mood within the crew is of fear and gloom as they oscillate between being hopeful of payments coming through and worried about their next EMIs failing if it doesn't. During the same time, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) president BN Tiwari said that Bhagnani owes over Rs 65 lakh to crew members who worked on three of his films Mission Raniganj, Ganapath, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, according to PTI.