Ali Fazal calls out makers of Prakash Raj's Tadka for non-payment of dues

Like his character in the web-series Mirzapur, Ali Fazal is not one to take things lying down. The actor hit back against the makers of his unreleased film, Tadka, for non-payment of dues. Directed by Prakash Raj, the film has been embroiled in a legal battle between the producers. 

Fazal's statement comes after Zee Music released a promotional song from the film, Khainch Le Kash, featuring Taapsee Pannu, Shriya Saran, and Fazal himself. 

The actor took to Twitter to register his surprise at the release of the song. He wrote, "There’s a court case on the producers of this film as far as i remember. Cheques had bounced. Actors and crew still haven’t gotten paid. Surprised to see a promotional song coming out from the film." 

Tadka is a remake of the Malayalam film, Salt n Pepper (2011). The film is directed by Prakash Raj. The film ran into trouble over the ownership of its Intellectual Property rights after Zee Studios filed a case in the Bombay High Court on 25 January this year. The studio had alleged that they had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Movie Makers, the production house which holds the rights to the film. However, this MoU was not approved by director Prakash Raj. 

In their complaint, Zee Studios alleged that Prakash Raj is refusing to honour the agreement. The producers also alleged that the filmmaker had sold some of the negatives and film props over to another film financing company, Akshay Communications Private Limited. 

In February, the court had summoned Prakash Raj to offer an explanation regarding the complaint, and stated that the film will not be released without the permission of the court. 

A source closed to Fazal stated, "Ali was utterly displeased with the rampant flouting of court rules which evidently had kept the film on hold. Additionally, he saw the incident as a breach of ethical conduct on part of the producers who are yet to clear payments for cast and crew but are willing to flaunt their film on social media. Not the one to stay mum on issues close to his heart, he put his version out there to make his stand on the matter clear and show his solidarity with the aggrieved cast and crew." 

Tadka feature Nana Patekar, Shriya Saran, and Taapsee Pannu in key roles. The film was initially set to release in 2017, but is now scheduled to release late in 2019.