Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; January 31, 2014)

Two months ago, the production team of the Sonam Kapoor-starrer Khoobsoorat — that was being shot in Rajasthan — approached a few furniture vendors in Udaipur and rented around 30 pieces of furniture from A&K Furniture, which is owned by Rishi Miglani. A source says that initially, the team planned to rent the furniture — including chairs, centre tables, sofas and wooden trolleys — only for a month but later stretched it to around 45 days. “When the shoot shifted from a hotel in Bikaner to City Palace in Jaipur, the team contacted the vendor again and told him that they needed 18 more items for an additional two days. But the team returned only 12 pieces within the said two days, and the remaining six were sent back after a week,” says the source.

The source adds that the vendor’s team repeatedly tried to contact the production team to address this delay and the payment for the extra pieces, but to no avail. “A member from the production team told the furniture vendor that additional pieces had been rented out by the arts team without their permission/ knowledge and that payments for the same cannot be made.” When contacted, Rishi Miglani tried to brush the issue aside, refusing to share the amount he is owed. “What has happened is unfortunate and I am sure that Kapoors are not aware of this. This issue is between the production team and me,” he said. The source, however, says that dues add up to Rs 44,000.

Production designer Shruti Gupte remained unavailable for comment.