Pooja Entertainment, led by producers Vashu and Jackky Bhagnani, has been navigating a difficult phase following a series of box- office disappointments. The latest, however, is the complex web of financial controversies involving the production house in an ugly legal tussle with streaming giant, Netflix. Bhagnani has sued Netflix for cheating and non-payment of dues to the tune of nearly Rs. 47.37 crore. 

Even as Netflix issued a denial and claimed that it is Pooja Entertainment that owes them money, the case, now under investigation by the Economic Offences Wing, seems to be stacked in the favour of Bhagnanis, owing apparently to non-cooperation from Netflix India.

Speaking exclusively to HT City, the investigating officer on the case, Senior Inspector Ravindra Avhad, says, “This amount of Rs. 47.37 crore is what Netflix owes to the complainant, Vashu Bhagnani. But Netflix is not cooperating. We sent them two summonses, but they are not appearing. They haven’t replied to the letter sent to them by us. Bhagnanis came to us in April, we recorded their statements and collected the required documents. Netflix asked for some time, but aaye hi nahin. Lower level ke staff ko bhej dete hain statement ke liye, but it is Monika Shergill (Content Head, Netflix India) who should appear.”

When asked about Netflix’s counterclaim on Bhagnanis as per their media statement (see bottom right box), he adds, “I am not aware about what statement Netflix has issued, but aisa kuchh nahin hai.”

When we contacted Netflix, they responded with the same media statement given out earlier (see bottom right box). Meanwhile, Vashu Bhagnani, says, “We registered the case against Netflix in April. We have full faith in the EOW to resolve the matter.”

The Context

Vashu Bhagnani, in his complaint filed in April 2024, claimed that Netflix ‘conspired against the rights’ of his three films: Hero No 1 (yet to be fully shot), Mission Raniganj and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. He filed a complaint against Los Gatos Production Services India, through which Netflix reports its content investments in India, Zoo Digital India and against executives of both companies. Netflix, in its response, issued a spokesperson statement on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a source privy to the developments in the case tells us on condition of anonymity, “Bhagnanis have been in the industry for over 40 years, and right now they feel the entire industry is not supporting them through their rough patch. While they have suffered heavy losses, their last film’s director (Ali Abbas Zafar; Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan) has taken over Rs. 14 crore of their money, for which they have lodged a police complaint. They are willing to repay everyone’s pending dues, at least they should get their dues first in order to do it.”

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We registered the case against Netflix in April. We have full faith in the EOW to resolve the matter.

- Vashu Bhagnani, producer

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“These claims are completely unfounded — indeed it’s Pooja Entertainment that owes Netflix money. We have a strong track record of partnership with the Indian creative community and are working with the authorities to resolve this dispute,” Netflix spokesperson said.

Actor Tiger Shroff will star in a two-heroine film with actors Sara Ali Khan and Pashmina Roshan, cousin of actor Hrithik Roshan.

A source exclusively tells us, “Pashmina will play Tiger’s love interest in the film, titled Hero No. 1, is neither a remake nor a sequel to the 1997 Hero No. 1 starring Govinda.”

The film’s shooting will begin early next year in London (UK).

The source adds, “Tiger has already shot an action sequence for it. It’s an action-drama with a dash of science. It’s being helmed by Jagan Shakti.”

Filmmaker David Dhawan’s Hero No 1 (1997) gained cult status over the years and is loved by many, even today. A comedy-drama, the film starred actors Govinda, Karisma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Satish Shah, Kader Khan, as well as Shakti Kapoor, in a cameo. Today, as the film celebrates 25 years of its release, Shah and Kapoor share their experiences of working on the film.

Kapoor recalls, “I was at home, as some shoot had been cancelled. That’s when David called and asked me to fly to Bangkok. He said, ‘Take a vacation for a few days. Five-six days ki achhi holiday hogi’. We have a strong friendship and (he) said I was his lucky charm, so I agreed to do the cameo. He sent the ticket and I flew over. It was fun. I did that only for David.”

Talking about his experience of working on the cult film, Shah, who played the role of Karisma’s uncle, shares: “David is my batchmate from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), and knew that I loved singing, so he cast me for the role of a musician in the film. I am glad it turned out well. I knew that if David gave me a role, he wouldn’t waste me. These were the kinds of movies where there was no stress. Maza aata tha shoot pe and one looked forward to shooting. Masti masti mein ban gayi, isliye itni achhi bani.”

He also adds that the film was inspired from filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi (1972), starring the late Rajesh Khanna, and everyone in the cast knew it would be a hit. Shah says, “I knew it would be a hit as it was a modern version of the film. The entertainment value was more than the original, I feel. There was more comedy in Hero No 1.”

Shah is, however, disappointed that he didn’t have any scenes with Kader Khan. “I have done many films with Kader bhai and his wit was well-known. I had a different rapport with Govinda as he had shot his first film, Love 86 (1986), with me. I would encourage him a lot, as he was a kid back then. He evolved a lot and became the star that we know (today)... He loves and respects me a lot. Even today, if I spot him on a TV screen, I stop and watch,” he shares.

Box Office India Trade Network

Mirror had recently reported (June 15) about the 1994 cult classic, Andaz Apna Apna, gearing up for a sequel. Now, Eros International joins hands with producer Vashu Bhagnani to remake two David Dhawan-directed films ­ the Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda-starrer Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, and Hero No 1, which featured Govinda and Karisma Kapoor as the leads.

According to a source close to the development, the films will roll in a few months. “Work on the script has already begun. The makers are considering Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Ranbir Kapoor or Ranveer Singh are on their wish-list for Hero No 1,“ the source added. The hunt is also currently on for directors for the two projects.

Hero No 1 released in 1997 and revolved around Meena and Rajesh who meet in Europe and fall in love. Upon their return to India, their romance faces stern opposition from Meena's high-strung grandfather (played by Paresh Rawal). Govinda's Rajesh then takes on the role of an enterprising and genial bawarchi to win over his ladylove's family. Meanwhile, the 1998 comic caper Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was about two cops, Big B's Arjun and Govinda's Pyare who share a love-hate relationship. The film also featured Ramya and Raveena Tandon as their love interests.

“The producers will be collaborating on several new projects as well which are still in the pipeline. For now the focus is on these two remakes,“ the source concludes.

Govinda, 50, is not just an actor with great timing, but he is also a loyal human being with great simplicity. He may have had the reputation of being a latecomer, but he was also often conveniently misunderstood. He is religious and is proud of having his parents' blessings that have given him the capability to look after his entire family. He knows that he has a big heart, but he now wants to build a great body. Over an hour-long conversation in his house over a cup of coffee and Parle-G glucose biscuits, he talks to Bombay Times about the uncanny predictions of his mother, how only Dilip Kumar understood him and his decision to make up for lost time with his wife Sunita. Excerpts:

How did you come into films?
My dad Arun was launched as a hero in 1940 by Mehboob Khan sahab in Aurat. We are originally from Gujranwala in Pakistan. My father was very successful and we had a bungalow on Carter Road, till one day when he produced a film and went into a heavy loss. We had to sell off our bungalow and moved to Virar. My dad's nervous system had got shaken up and for about 15 years, he remained unwell. I have four sisters and an older brother, Kirti. When my mother was expecting me, she turned into a sadhu. She lived with my father in the same house, but the life of a sadhu. So for a year after I was born, my daddy did not take me in his lap, as he connected my birth with him losing his wife to becoming a sadhu. But over time, people would tell him how I was a khoobsurat kid and that I was a good boy and then, he started loving me. My brother taught acting in Roshan Taneja sahab's institute. I was such a mama's boy that no one imagined that I could come into the film line. She wanted me to do a bank job. It was my dad who encouraged me to come into films. He would say, 'You can write so well, you look so nice, you can act, you should try in films. Why are you going around finding a job?' So sometimes, without telling my mom, I would go to Rajshri Productions to see if I could get some work. Then one day, I requested mummy to allow me. She said, 'No sharab, no cigarette. If you want to try for sometime, try, but I don't want to see those things in life.' I was very lucky. I went to acting institute and Roshan Tanejaji did not take the fees from me, Saroj Khanji taught me dance but did not charge me, Ram fight master taught me how to fight but did not charge me, as they all loved me seeing my work. I became a hero within a year at 21. In 1988, I launched our home production Hatya with Kirti as its director and from then on, never looked back till 2003.

Talk about your mother?
She was a devi personality and my guru. My father was a devta aadmi too by nature, but had got detached from the film industry. He felt that due to his hard time, she became like that. Whatever she would ask me to do, I would always do it for her. She loved me a lot and also respected me as a son. Between the age of 14 and 21, she made me do the Gayatri Mantra 48 lakh times. I would sit for three hours every day doing it and people would laugh at me, saying God knows what she would make me into. I was most attached to my mummy. From a very young age, my dad did not have work, so mummy would look after the house. She would go and sing bhajans and do thumri performances to support the house. So right from when I was 13, I wanted to work to help her. I had opened a small restaurant called Govinda in Virar, but that did not work. She would pamper us fully as a mother and yet, we felt that she was beyond all worldly attachments. She was most strict with me and she had a lot of hope from me. Whatever she would predict, would happen for sure. I would find many dead snakes under my pillow. When I was 17, she said, 'When you will be 21, you will do kamaal.' I became a hero at 21. And in 50 days, I had signed 49 films.Whatever she said, would happen for sure. When my mother went out for programmes, it was our older sister Padma jiji (Krushna Abhishek's mother), who would look after us. My mother predicted that she would die after delivering her daughter Arti. That cancer and Arti were growing in her stomach simultaneously and she did die. Then one day mummy predicted her own death to me. I was very hassled. Three months later, she died exactly when she had said she would.

How badly were you affected by her death?
My mother died in 1996. She had once got hurt in 1993 and from then on only, I started doing Mahamrityunjaya Jaap for her and did them 60 lakh times. I was in Paris shooting Hero No. 1 and was at the peak of my career, but while shooting, I started crying on the streets. Some foreigners came and asked me why I was crying and I said, 'My mom is not well.' I knew she was going to die and the next day, I lost her. I cried so much that I tore 36 tissues of my chest and stomach and had to be hospitalised. I was not prepared and did not know how to live without her. I really struggled, but God helped me. Mummy had given me a Guru Mantra with the help of which I got okay and could come out of depression and I got to understand many things. Today, I feel she has come into me.

Did you ever start drinking?
When I was 34, for the first time I asked mummy, 'Can I have a beer?' I was in a disco and I felt like having it and, of course, she gave me a pravachan. She said, 'Chi Chi, liquor was made for people who were tired or people who would feel cold. It was not made for indulgence. It is meant for weak people.' She would say, 'Look at your face, what a personality you have.' I do drink, but occasionally.

You had a terrible reputation of being late on the set. What was the reason for that?
I used to do 5-6 shifts and would work 18 hours a day, with just 3-4 hours of sleep. I had a nervous breakdown twice and had to be hospitalised. Producers would be standing outside the hospital waiting for me. People are not sensitive or interested in your problems, they just want to do business with you. I have had a lot of tragedies in my house, so while I may have looked fit, inside I was going through a lot. But I knew that even if I was late, I needed to be in the right frame of mind, mentally and physically. There were also times when a producer may have gone to meet his girlfriend, but put the reason for delay on me. Dilip Kumar sahab was the only person in the film industry who could understand my problem. He was sensitive and could see that I was not okay and advised me to do comedy and yoga. My comedy films started working and like he had said, to a large extent, comedy helped me get out of my emotional problems. When I became a big star, there were times when I was late, but there were also times when I came on time and no one reported. There were people working towards getting me out of films by using the media to build my reputation as a latecomer. I too tried to manipulate the media, but finally people who were against me succeeded and by 2004, I had acquired a bad reputation of being a latecomer and had joined politics.

Talk about the tragedies you referred to?
I have seen 11 deaths in my family, including my first daughter who died when she was four months as she was a premature baby and my mother, my father, my two cousins, my jija and my sister. Then their companies had shut down, so they had no work. All their kids were brought up by me. There was a lot of emotional and financial pressure.

Did you feel over-burdened at any point?
Many people would come to meet my mother, so I would take time with mummy to meet her. Mother and son would sit on an aasan and talk once she was free. I once told her, 'Mummy, let us distribute everything to our family and both of us get free.' She said, 'Arre Ram, Ram, Ram! I thought tum bahut bade aadmi banoge. People look after a whole city and nation, you are getting tired just looking after your family. Keep your heart big and ask more from God. Don't get scared.' And that became my attitude from that day. I consider myself very lucky. I consider the grace of God and the blessings of my mother, that I could serve my family. I feel very proud in my heart as a son. As a husband, ab thoda thoda ho raha hoon.

Talk about your wife Sunita?
I used to hug my mother and would never sleep without pressing her feet. Sometimes I would be so tired that while pressing her feet only, I would go off to sleep there. My mom and Sunita also have so many times given me a sponge bath in my sleep when I was tired. Sunita ne itna jhela hai mujhe. She would always surprise me by praising me and respecting me too much. As her husband, I feel sad that being a star wife, I could not give her what she deserved in her youth as a star wife. I didn't make her roam around and enjoy as much as I should have. And I always say sorry to her. But I am lucky that we are both still young. What she likes the most about me is my honesty and she knows that my love for her that I had from the beginning still remains and has its own place.

What made you enter and then exit politics?
I have always listened to elders in my life. So when some senior people of the nation asked me to join, I did. But I felt that I didn't belong to this world. And I came back.

Do you have friends in the industry?
There are no friends in the industry. But what is important is who has given you saath. And he is bigger than a friend. I feel that film line jaisi bhi ho, yeh saath deti hai. Mehboob Khan sahab, Dilip Kumarji and Salman Khan ne mera saath diya. I like Salman and I like him because woh badi hi imaandari se saath deta hai.