Producers Dhanraj Jethani and Anil Jethani were supposed to make a Rs150-crore budget film with the director.
Producers drag Rajkumar Santoshi to court in cheque bouncing case
Mumbai - 08 Mar 2017 11:28 IST
Our Correspondent
Filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi has landed in a legal soup after a cheque he issued to someone has allegedly bounced. Producers Dhanraj Jethani and Anil Jethani had filed a case against the director in 2013 after cheques issued by him allegedly bounced.
In a recent development, Santoshi is now charged with Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 as cheques worth Rs17,50,000 have bounced. He was granted bail by Rajkot Magistrate Court on 4 March on a surety of Rs25,000.
The producers, who had made Ankur Arora Murder Case (2013), claim to have met Santoshi for a film worth approximate budget of Rs150 crore. The project didn’t materialise and the filmmaker returned the money. However, the cheques worth Rs17,50,000 bounced.
Talking to a publication, Anil said, “I sent him several legal notices which he did not respond to and after a while even stopped answering my calls. A magistrate court in Mumbai issued a warrant against Santoshi in 2015. He was to appear in court but failed to do so. I was then asked to transfer the case back to Rajkot where the initial transactions had taken place.”
However, Santoshi has not only rubbished the allegations, but has also questioned the character of Jethanis. He said, “Anil Jethani comes to Mumbai to party, picking up young starlets for his films. He is sleazy and what he is claiming is untrue. My lawyers are replying to him with a legal notice and we are going to challenge him in court. He will be the one paying for this.”
Santoshi also feels that the Jethanis shouldn’t be speaking to the media as the case is sub judice. “The matter is sub judice, so why is Jethani talking to the media? He has no credentials and agreements with me and only wants to tarnish my reputation. I have refused to attend his functions and parties in the past. Why would I ever associate with such people?” asked the director who has helmed Ghayal (1990), Andaz Apna Apna (1994), Damini (1993), The Legend Of Bhagat Singh (2002) among others.
