Bharti K Dubey (DNA; May 20, 2018)

The shoot of Batti Gul Meter Chalu (BGMC), starring Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, resumed after Bhushan Kumar took over the reigns from KriArj Entertainment (co-owned by Prernaa Arora and Arjun N Kapoor) due to monetary issues. However, it seems like the troubles for the film haven’t ended yet. Vipul Rawal, the writer of Rustom, has filed a complaint with the Film Writers Association (FWA) against director Shree Narayan Singh and writers Siddharth and Garima Rawal (the team behind BGMC). He has charged them with copyright infringement and unethical behaviour.

Vipul in his complaint has stated that he had registered the story titled, Roshini, in 2009. He later registered the final draft of the same in 2016. In 2017, he apparently entered into an agreement with KriArj Entertainment, after which the story was narrated to various actors. Eventually, Shahid and Shraddha were signed for the film. He further states, “The director wanted certain changes in the screenplay and for that, he decided to employ writers of his choice to make the modifications in my screenplay. The pre-production started and the dates for shooting were locked.”

Vipul says, “However, when the first teaser came out, my name wasn’t mentioned anywhere. Instead, it boldly proclaimed, ‘From the writer and director of Toilet - Ek Prem Katha’. Immediately, I sent multiple mails to the producers, who assured me that the issue will be rectified at the earliest.’’

He claims that he wrote several mails to Shree Narayan Singh, who is also the movie’s line producer, asking him to rectify the credits. He states, “The director’s partner, Nitin Chandrachud, sent me a mail saying that the subject of my film (electricity) is in public domain and anyone can write on it. This, after the entire project, was set up on the basis of the screenplay written by me. They also mentioned that they will mention my credits only as ‘concept by’, which is totally unacceptable to me.”

When contacted, Rohini Vakil, the writer’s lawyer, said, “We have sent a legal notice to them and a public notice will also be published on Saturday. I want my client’s right to be protected. Batti Gul Meter Chalu is from the writer of Rustom and not Toilet - Ek Prem Katha as claimed in the teaser.”

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 18, 2018)

The Shree Narayan Singh-directed social-drama Batti Gul Meter Chalu, which features Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Yami Gautam, had ground to an abrupt halt after kicking off in February over several issues including payment issues. Now, Mirror has learnt that the makers will resume shooing from today in Mumbai. But producer Prernaa Arora of KriArj Entertainment has exited the project and now Bhushan Kumar is the principal producer.

“The modalities have been worked out and the remaining remuneration of the actors will be paid. Bhushan has all the rights now and will be taking the film forward,” informs a source close to the development. The source adds that Prernaa is also out of Atul Manjrekar’s musical-drama, the Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajkummar Rao-starrer Fanne Khan. Bhushan and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra are the only two producers on the film now. “There’s only one song left to be shot in Fanne Khan which will be filmed in the first week of June,” adds the source.

Confirming the news, Bhushan told Mirror, “Yes, I’m the sole producer on Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Shree Narayan along with his partner Nitin Chandrachud are the stakeholders. Prernaa is also no longer a part of Fanne Khan because of all the trouble happening around her. She wants to solve all these problems first before she gets back to making movies. I will now be producing both these films with my partners on it.”

Mirror (April 12) had reported that Ronnie Screwvala had taken over Abhishek Kapoor’s Sushant Singh Rajput, Sara Ali Khan-starrer Kedarnath, which resumed shooting last month. The film was earlier being produced by Bhushan, Prernaa and Ekta Kapoor.

Also, following a crucial Bombay High Court hearing in a case involving John Abraham’s JA Entertainment and Prernaa Arora’s KriArj Entertainment’s film, Parmanu, on May 10 conducted in Justice Kathawalla’s chamber, it was decided that Vashu Bhagnani’s Pooja Entertainment will bear the cost of P&A (print and advertising) and distribute the film across India. Zee Studios will distribute the film internationally while John Abraham’s JA Entertainment will be credited as a producer for the film. Ajay Kapoor’s Kyta Productions will also be credited for their contribution to the project, but Prernaa Arora’s KriArj Entertainment will not be a part of the project in any capacity.