Ali Fazal is miffed that the Prakash Raj directorial, which also features Taapsee Pannu, is being promoted even though its cast and crew are yet to be paid in full
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 3, 2019)

On August 1, Zee Music Company launched the song, “Khainch Le Qashh”, from Prakash Raj’s first Hindi film as a director, Tadka. Ali Fazal, Taapsee Pannu and Shriya Saran—the film’s lead actors—and its music team were tagged in the post. Soon after, Ali responded, stating, “There’s a court case on the producers of this film as far as I remember. Cheques had bounced. Actors and crew still haven’t gotten paid. Surprised to see a promotional song coming out from the film.”

When Mirror reached out to the 32-year-old actor, who was on his way to Canada, sounded upset. “An entire crew, including my staff, is yet to be paid. When we (the cast) were called to shoot the last portion, we made it clear to the producers that we would do so only after our dues were cleared. But they requested us to shoot, promising to pay later. I was working on another project at the time and had to leave it for three-four days for this film. I got a cheque a day after we shot, but it bounced. Since then I have got several WhatsApp messages from my producer Jatish Varma, promising me that he will pay up but it has yet to happen. My tweet was not against Zee but against these guys who made the film,” Ali ranted.

The film, which also features Nana Patekar, has been produced by Jatish Varma, Sameer Dixit, and Zee Studios. When Mirror reached out to producer Jatish, he said, “The film’s release date is yet to be finalised. Only the last payment, which is made after the promotions, remains. The rest has been cleared on time for every member associated with the film.”

When asked why Zee Music Company had released the song, Jatish said, “This song was released without our permission. We share a great relationship with Anurag Bedi, the head of Zee Music Company, who is keen to release our film’s music even if Zee Studios disassociates itself with the project as he has invested time and energy in it. We want to go ahead with Zee Music as well, but we cannot sign a deal as of now as there is an ongoing legal battle between Prakash Raj and Zee Studios (over the film).”

When asked if he’ll promote the film, Ali said, “My heart is not in this film now. Taapsee is a friend and I can speak for her. I don’t think either of us would be interested in promoting it.”

Actor in cinematic retelling of Uzma Ahmed’s story, who returned to India after month-long ordeal in Pak
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 26, 2019)

Mirror had earlier reported (March 5) that filmmakers Sameer Dixit, Jatish Varma and Girish Johar have acquired the rights to the story of Delhi girl Uzma Ahmed, who fell in love with Tahir Ali, a taxi driver from Pakistan, during a trip to Malaysia, and went to Buner, one of the remotest parts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where he lived. Upon arrival, she discovered that Tahir was already married and a father to four children. She was subsequently forced to marry him at gunpoint.

Now, we have learnt that the makers have roped in Saif Ali Khan to play the role of J P Singh (left), India’s then Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad, who was instrumental in bringing Uzma back home under the guidance of the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The film is directed by Shivam Nair, who has previously helmed the Taapsee Pannu and Akshay Kumar-starrer Naam Shabana.

According to a source close to the development, Saif will begin prep for the part closer to the shooting date. “When the team met for a narration Saif instantly liked the script. He has agreed to be a part of the project and will be sporting a very different look in the film, which is expected to roll in February-March next year. The makers are currently looking to cast an A-list actress to play Uzma,” the source shared.

The story is being adapted for the screen by Ritesh Shah who has worked on Pink and other upcoming projects like John Abraham’s Batla House and Shoojit Sircar’s Vicky Kaushal-starrer Udham Singh biopic. “The film will have an ensemble cast and Shivam has already begun pre-production. Recce is also scheduled to begin shortly,” the source added.

Saif is presently in London shooting for his home production, the Nitin Kakkar-directed Jawaani Jaaneman which marks the acting debut of Pooja Bedi’s daughter Alaia F. The film will be shot entirely in the city over a 45-day schedule. 

While the grapevine is abuzz with reports of a split, the duo spent the holidays together in Goa while the sportsman’s parents joined them in Mumbai
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 15, 2018)

Taapsee Pannu, who has been dating Danish badminton player and Olympic Silver medallist Mathias Boe for four years now, has always maintained a stoic silence on all matters of the heart because she “didn’t want talk to deflect from her work to personal life”. But she is always quick to reveal to the media that she is “extremely proud of her relationship status and happy with the person she’s with”.

The couple, who had first met during the Indian Badminton League in 2013, when Taapsee was the brand ambassador of one of the teams, have been together since. But late last year, there were rumours of a break-up, which escalated as we headed into the new year. Buzz was, it was triggered by a new man, supposedly working for an entertainment house, in the 30-year-old actress’s life. But a friend of the actress rubbished this, pointing that the cross-border relationship was stronger and steadier than ever. “Taapsee and Mathias took off to Goa to ring in the holidays together. Her sister, Shagun, who shares a close friendship with Mathias, was with the couple at Morjim beach too. But they couldn’t ring in the New Year together because Mathias took off to Lucknow for the Premier Badminton League on January 1,” a source close to the actress told Mirror. Mathais has been playing for the Bengaluru Blasters and won the Men’s Doubles with partner Kim Sa Rang on Sunday.

The source further adds that the 37-year-old sportsman’s parents also visited Mumbai recently. “Despite being busy with back-to-back schedules, Taapsee spent quality time with Mathais and his family,” the source said.

Taapsee, who debuted in 2010 with the Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam, is presently in Hyderabad for a yet-untitled Telugu film. The project kicked off last Wednesday, exactly a year after she did her last Telugu film, Anando Brahma. Next, the actress will be seen as a hockey player in Shaad Ali’s biopic Soorma, which features Diljit Dosanjh as the hockey legend Sandeep Singh. Taapsee wrapped up Soorma in Serbia earlier this month.
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MEANWHILE...

Rumours were rife that the final payment for Taapsee and Ali Fazal, leads of Prakash Raj’s Hindi directorial debut, Tadka, and several technicians who worked on the film, had not been made. A Hindi remake of the 2011 Malayalam film, Salt N’ Pepper, Tadka has been in production for the last year-and-a-half and also features Nana Patekar and Shriya Saran.

While Mirror was told that many crew members were left fuming after cheques issued to them bounced, producers Sameer Dixit and Jatish Varma informed that the situation is now under control. The duo, who has co-produced Nandita Das’s Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Manto under their banner Movies Makers Inc, admitted there was a glitch over the last transaction but assured that all dues will be cleared by Tuesday-Wednesday. “Ninety per cent of the film is complete with only post-production remaining. All payments were cleared. The last transaction faced some logistical delays as we were wrapping up the final schedule of the film in Goa till three days ago. Now, the production team is working towards clearing the payments,” Sameer, who has partnered with Zee Studios for the film, told Mirror, adding that "these kind of things happen all the time while working on a film.”

BOMBAY TIMES (May 3, 2016)