KriArj Entertainment seems to be having a tough time with its ongoing film productions. After Kedarnath, Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran and Batti Gul Meter Chalu, it is now Fanne Khan in the eye of the storm over alleged non-payment of dues. According to a report in Mid-day, the shoot of Fanne Khan has been stalled for the same reason. Fanne Khan is directed and co-produced by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.
Mid-day quoted a Fanne Khan crew member as saying, “The freelancers associated with the project have a contract with KriArj Entertainment. We were told that the payments would come in by early March, but we haven't received a penny. So, we've decided not to start work on the next schedule till we get paid. We have given an ultimatum to the producers to clear the dues by 15 April."
As per the report, a couple of songs were left to be shot, but the freelance crew has refused to shoot till their dues are cleared.
When Cinestaan.com asked whether there are more than a couple of songs to be shot, Tandon replied via text message, "Only couple of songs are left to be shot."
Tandon cited a different reason for the shoot being stalled.
“We were working towards getting a particular choreographer on board. That took a while. The shoot is lined up for 24 April to 7 May," Tandon told Mid-day. The ROMP official also asserted that the film had been shifted from the initial release date of 15 June to 13 July.
"There were other bigger films coming on 15 June. It didn't make sense to clash,” added Tandon.
The news of Fanne Khan shoot being stalled comes on a day when Ronnie Srewvala took over rights of Kedarnath from KriArj Entertainment, T-Series and Balaji Motion Pictures. Earlier, Batti Gul Meter Chalu director Shree Narayan Singh had rubbished rumours of the shoot being stalled.
KriArj Entertainment co-founder Prernaa Arora remained unavailable for comment. A source close to KriArj Entertainment said, "There’s nothing to add to what Mr Rajiv Tandon told Mid-day. There are just two songs that need to be shot. The entire film has been shot, there was no problem then. It is the director’s call to add two new songs. Earlier, Rajkummar Rao broke his leg. Then KriArj didn’t have Aishwarya Rai’s dates. It is not as big an issue as it is being made out to be. It will all be resolved soon.”
Fanne Khan features Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao and Divya Dutta.