One of the leading production houses of the Hindi film industry, Pooja Entertainment is battling a major financial crisis it seems. In the last few days, many employees of the company have called out the company over non-payment of dues
Earlier this week, Ruchita Kamble, who once worked at Pooja Entertainment, took to Instagram and wrote a long post about the same.
She wrote, “I'm not the one to ever make such posts, but sometimes people need to be ousted! Seeing my team and the crew I worked with struggle day in and day out to just get hold of our own hard-earned money has compelled me to make this post. Read the sheer frustration of these young girls, who have beautifully stated the absolute disregard @pooja_ent has and the sheer unprofessional, unethical behavior that we all have been tolerating for way too long.”
A few days later, a report from Bollywood Hungama has been doing the rounds which indicates that the production company has sold its seven-story office to settle their debt of Rs 250 crore.
The production company's latest movie, 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan', failed significantly at the box office. Subsequent reports indicate that Pooja Entertainment is now planning to reduce its operational activities as well.
A source was quoted saying, “It all started with Bell Bottom , which was one of the first Hindi movie to be released in theatres post the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The film flopped badly at the box office and so did the next one, Mission Raniganj. The company faced another setback when the big-budget Ganapath failed to perform and was even rejected by Netflix despite an acquisition deal. Red flags had already begun to appear in the company’s financial sheet by this point, and the enormous investment in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan made matters worse.”
Bhagnani, originally from Kolkata, started his career in the construction industry as a builder. He made his foray into film production with the 1995 success 'Coolie No. 1' directed by David Dhawan. Subsequently, he produced several notable films including 'Hero No. 1', 'Biwi No. 1', 'Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein', 'Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai', 'Om Jai Jagdish', 'Deewanapan', and 'Ghost'. His estimated net worth is approximately Rs 2500 crore as per several reports.
He launched his son Jackky Bhagnani in 2009 with the film Kal Kissne Dekha which tanked with a trace. Jackky’s acting career includes mediocre films like Faltu, Ajab Gazabb Love, Rangrezz, Youngistaan, and Welcome To Karachi with him.
Vashu Bhagnani has reportedly sold his office to a builder who intends to develop a high-end residential project. Additionally, the Bhagnani family has relocated their operations to a two-bedroom flat in Juhu and has terminated nearly 80 percent of their staff. The cost-cutting measures commenced in January, and the staff layoffs occurred starting from April, following the disappointing performance of the film 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan', which starred Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff.
According to the report, Vashu Bhagnani's film 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' was produced with a substantial budget of Rs 350 crore. However, it only managed to earn a meager Rs 59.17 crore at the box office.
The source further added the industry, “Even still, the firm held out hope that the action entertainer starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff would turn around its financial situation. However, the historic failure of this Ali Abbas Zafar directorial almost crippled the company. Vashu had no choice but to sell the building to pay off the enormous debt.”.
Reviving the company is what this father-son duo is concentrating on at the moment.
The production house's team has not yet issued any comments, and an official announcement regarding this development is still pending.