Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; July 24, 2017)

It may have been over a week to the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards that was held in New York, but the award ceremony continues to hit headlines.

A day after filmmaker and CBFC Chief Pahlaj Nihalani sent a five-page legal notice to the IIFA and Wizcraft International [the organisers of the event] asking for a public apology for the defamatory remarks passed against him by Riteish Deshmukh and Maniesh Paul, the organisers have termed the whole episode a “misunderstanding”.

Speaking to mid-day, Sabbas Joseph [director, Wizcraft International, pictured on the right] said, “There is no statement or event in the show that warrants any notice. Pahlajji will get a better understanding of the show once he sees it. We have always respected Pahlajji, who has originally been on the IIFA advisory board, and has always been [of tremendous] help. I am sure it is a misunderstanding that will be corrected once Pahlajji sees the show on television again.”

In the legal notice sent to IIFA, Nihalani’s lawyer Suren Uppal stated that his client’s picture was misused at the awards ceremony. It further stated that Nihalani was referred to as a ‘watchman’ during a sketch performed by Deshmukh and Paul at IIFA Rocks, with the intent to “create an adverse atmosphere in the public against Nihalani” and “to increase the TRP of the show”. The notice also pointed out how defamatory remarks were passed against the CBFC by hosts Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar during IIFA 2016 as well.

The notice demanded that IIFA immediately withdraw the defamatory remarks made against Nihalani, under their authorisation. Nihalani also demanded an unconditional apology across media outlets and a pledge to not malign him in the future with such “frivolous remarks”. Last week, Nihalani had slammed the award show for not nominating Aamir Khan’s Dangal (2016) and Akshay Kumar [Rustom and Airlift, 2016]. IIFA had clarified then that Khan had not filed nominations in the first place.

MID-DAY (June 26, 2017)

It's official! Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapur and Diljit Dosanjh will be seen together in a film to be produced by Wiz Films and Vashu Bhagnani. Wizcraft, an event management company and organisers of the International Indian Film Awards (IIFA), is set to venture into production with a full-length feature film.

“One of the films that we are producing will feature Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapur and Diljit Dosanjh. The film will have elements of romance, comedy and drama. It should go on floors this year. Things are in process as far as the director is concerned,” Sabbas Joseph, founder-director, Wizcraft, said.

Joseph says they have joined hands with producer Vashu Bhagnani for the untitled venture. “This film is being produced by Vashu Bhagnani and Wiz Films. A formal announcement will be made soon. There are other projects that we are working on. For the moment, we can’t talk about any of these. They are in the pipeline.”

Buzz is, lot of big B-Town celebrities have guest appearance in the film, some portions of which will be shot at the IIFA awards, to be held in New York next month. Meanwhile Sonakshi will now be seen in the remake of the 1969 drama, Ittefaq, alongside Sidharth Malhotra. The film will be directed by debutante Abhay Chopra.

Close on the heels of TVF fiasco, Taapsee Pannu launches sexual harrasment helpline for media and entertainment industry
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 17, 2017)

After Pink (2016), Taapsee Pannu emerged as the face of firebrand women, who refuse to cower and condone wrongdoings. Staying true to her on-screen image, the actress has launched a helpline to assist women in the domains of harassment and mental distress. The effort seems well-timed given recent molestation allegations by ex-employees of The Viral Fever (TVF) against founder-CEO Arunabh Kumar.

A set of professional counsellors has been roped in to provide assistance to the complainants/victims. Calls to the helpline number (01149694998) will be answered by trained executives, who will redirect them to a counsellor. Redressal committees at regional levels have also been instituted to facilitate the process. The initiative has been taken by Event and Entertainment Management Association.

Helpline curator Sabbas Joseph tells mid-day, "We wish to create an environment where women can deliver to their full potential. Women in advertising, media, and entertainment are both role models and influencers. It is a positive step towards making lives of working women a little easier."

Though Taapsee isn't clear about her opinion on the ongoing TVF controversy, she feels the helpline will go a long way in creating better workplaces. She says, "It is a profound initiative for all working women, especially in the events, entertainment and media industry. It is not just a step towards making the working environment safe for women, but also in making the world a better place."

Shubha Shetty-Saha (MID-DAY; April 16, 2014)

Travel agent Akarsh Kolaprath, who runs a Florida-based enterprise, has filed a lawsuit against Wizcraft, the organisers of the 15th International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA awards) for alleged breach of trust.

Kolaprath claims that about three years ago, he struck a deal with Andre Timmins and Viraf Sarkari of Wizcraft through his family company, 7M tours. As part of the deal, he was apparently asked to help them out with co-ordination of finances and taking the award ceremony to the United States this year. Kolaprath claims to have spent the last three years and around $ 2,65,000 on consulting and making travel arrangements for the organisation. In return, Wizcraft apparently promised him 3 percent of the entire profit.

Kolaprath says that he even managed hotel bookings for the event, which is going to be held from April 24 to 27. It seems that the event organisers have abruptly changed their mind and decided to do their own bookings and arrangements thereby cancelling his services. Kolaprath has now sued Wizcraft for $ 7 million dollars for leaving him in the lurch without giving him adequate reasons.

His claims are:
1. Wizcraft/ IIFA promised to pay him 3 percent of the anticipated $ 17.5 million in revenue that the organisation expected to earn from hosting the awards.
2. Wizcraft/ IIFA further promised to pay him all revenues earned in excess of $ 17.5 million.
3. His company, 7M tours, reported a loss of more than $ 400,000 in hotel cancellation fees due to change of dates.

Talking to hitlist from Florida, Kolaprath said, “This has affected us very badly; we have been working on the whole thing. I was the one who introduced them (Wizcraft) to the sponsors. But suddenly after we had done all the arrangements, we got to know that they were dealing directly with the sponsors and wanted me out of the picture. Their intention is not right.” He has now asked for a stay on the event till this issue is cleared. “They have been trying to reach some kind of settlement but I will go ahead with my case,” Kolaprath said.

When contacted, Sabbas Joseph, director of Wizcraft and IIFA, sent a statement on behalf of his company. The statement read, “The claims made by Akarsh/& 7M tours are false and frivolous. It is a concocted story lacking any substance. Since the matter is sub judice, we shall respond to these claims appropriately before the court.”

Controversy's child?
The brand ambassador for IIFA since its inception in 2000, Amitabh Bachchan was apparently miffed with the organisers in 2011 as not only did they decide to host the event in Sri Lanka without consulting him, but they also signed on Salman Khan to host the same. Big B had tweeted then, “Not coming to Toronto IIFA... IIFA says my services are not required.” Interestingly, Sallu received flak for agreeing to attend IIFA that year. When Vice President of Tamil Film Producers’ Council, A Prabhakaran, asked for a ban on the actor, Sallu allegedly replied that he didn’t mind being banned.