Out on bail after being arrested on charges of fraud, producer Prernaa Arora claims the past nine months in prison helped her reflect on her actions
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; September 25, 2019)

Producer Prernaa Arora of KriArj Entertainment, who was arrested by Mumbai's Economic Offence Wing in a case of criminal breach of trust for allegedly cheating Vashu Bhagnani of Rs 31.6 crore last year, was released on bail last week. The past nine months in prison, she claims, have made her reflect on her Bollywood journey that came to a halt when she was accused by several filmmakers of foul play.

"Every business suffers losses, but you cover up [the loss] by making other films. Newcomers need time to establish themselves, but I never got that space. I started with Rustom [2016] and went on to sign films back-to-back. I admit I have made mistakes; I should have slowed down and learned more. But the intention was never to run away with somebody's money," asserts Arora.

Having struck gold with Rustom, Arora quickly bankrolled a slew of projects. Trouble began when Kedarnath director Abhishek Kapoor locked horns with her, citing "lack of transparency" in the studio's financial dealings, followed by Parmanu actor-producer John Abraham accusing her studio of "non-payment of dues". Things turned worse when Vashu Bhagnani accused her of wrongly selling the rights of Kedarnath to him when producer Ronnie Screwvala had compensated producers Ekta Kapoor, Arora and Bhushan Kumar for the rights.

"Maybe seniors here have a different way of working, and my style didn't match theirs. I realised that things could go wrong or that they weren't working out, but it was too late for me to withdraw." She hopes to bounce back. "I want to apologise to each and every person whom I have angered. I will work hard and do my paperwork correctly hereon."