After a long legal battle over finance and ownership, KriArj Entertainment has opted out of Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, which is scheduled to be released on 25 May. The Bombay high court on Thursday ruled that Parmanu would be released under the joint banner of JA Entertainment, Zee Studios and Kyta Productions. The film will be distributed by Vashu Bhagnani’s Pooja Entertainment in India, while Zee Studios will take care of the overseas distribution.
KriArj Entertainment issued a statement that it had opted out of the project. “Parmanu is a project that was very close to our hearts. It is a film that portrays the story of India's nuclear test like never before. KriArj Entertainment has ensured that the project was completed within timeline and the quality of the content is something that we shall always be proud of. However, owing to inevitable reasons beyond our control and consistent improbabilities, KriArj Entertainment has decided to move out of the project. There are certain business decisions that simply need to be taken dispassionately and this was one of them,” KriArj Entertainment said in the statement.
"As we move out, we wish JA Entertainment, Pooja Entertainment, Zee Studios and other stakeholders well and hope the film can truly achieve the heights that we, at KriArj, feel it deserves. We understand that there has been news reports purporting to KriArj's exit and this press release wishes to put to rest all figments regarding the company's continuance in the industry, as well as its exit from Parmanu,” added the statement.
Lead actor John Abraham’s JA Entertainment also issued a statement saying: “We are extremely thankful to the Hon'ble Bombay high court for the speedy resolution of various issues at hand, thus, paving the way for our film’s release. We would like to make no further comment and focus all our energies on the release of the film now."
This is the second film that KriArj Entertainment has opted out of, after they let go of Kedarnath (2018), which producer Ronnie Screwvala has taken over.
When we called producer Vashu Bhagnani, whose Pooja Entertainment is distributing the film in India, he said, "I’m in London right now, but I haven’t received any order as yet. But from what I’ve heard, whoever are the producers, it is Pooja Entertainment that will be distributing the film in India. Whatever the order, we all will have to abide it."
Pooja Entertainment is in a multi-film distribution deal with KriArj Entertainment. With KriArj Entertainment out of Parmanu, does this affect the deal?
“We had a deal with KriArj Entertainment. Whatever the terms of the deal, the court has agreed to it. It is KriArj who has done the deal. How can I say that KriArj shoud be thrown out? I don’t think this order will impact anything,” added Bhagnani.
The trailer of Parmanu will be released today, which happens to be the 20th anniversary of the Pokhran tests.