Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; February 18, 2016)

The cast of an upcoming small-budget film, Direct Ishq, was in for a rude shock during their Lucknow leg of promotions. We hear actors Rajniesh Duggall, Arjun Bijlani and Nidhi Subbaiah, and some crew members were forced to dig deep into their pockets to cover a major portion of the tour expenses.

An insider reveals, “The team was supposed to promote the movie in Lucknow with their air tickets and hotel stay paid for. They were promised a meeting with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. However, on landing in the city, they were informed that they would be no such meeting. When the cast and crew confronted the event organisers, the latter cancelled their return tickets and hotel booking.”

Taken aback, the actors tried sending an SOS to the film’s producer for help, but his phone remained switched off, adds the source. With no other option, the team apparently had to shell out money for their air fare and hotel accommodation.

Pradeep Sharma, the film’s producer, remained unavailable for comment, but a source close to him claims, “The event organisers went back on their word, but when Pradeep sir got to know about it, he booked the tickets for the entire team."