Jackky Bhagnani's production house sells Mumbai office to pay off Rs 250 crore debt

Jackky Bhagnani Pic/Instagram

Jackky Bhagnani and his father Vashu Bhagnani's production house, Pooja Entertainment's Mumbai office, has reportedly been sold off at Rs 250 crore to clear the salaries of its crew members. The development comes days after those working for the firm complained about not getting their dues on time. The seven-floor office has been purchased by a builder who is said to demolish it and build a luxurious residential project.

According to Bollywood Hungama, the production banner has cut operations down due to back-to-back box office flops. Their latest release ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff was a dud at the box office and made a business of only Rs 59.17 crore despite being made on a budget of Rs 350 crore.

The report further claimed that senior Bhagnani sacked nearly 80 percent of its staff and shifted base to a 2-bedroom flat in Juhu. According to a source as per the media portal, the misfortune began with ‘Bell Bottom' which was released post-COVID-19 pandemic, followed by ‘Mission Raniganj' and ‘Ganapath'. ‘BMCM' only made it worse. Their upcoming project ‘Ashwatthama' featuring Shahid Kapoor was announced recently during Amazon Prime Video's slate unveiling event.

A couple of days back, a crew member named Ruchita Kamble took to Instagram and shared her ordeal of working with them. She also shared screenshots of other people's grievances.

She wrote, "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 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 behaviour that we all have been tolerating for way too long".

"Being dodged from person to another just to ask for our own money which was promised to be cleared within 45-60 working days post completion which in itself is also unprofessional but the crew graciously agreed as we r a bunch driven by passion for filmmaking. But to exploit this passion to such an extent should not be acceptable. There is no hope of getting paid but this post is to make the countless others aware of this fraudulent practices by @pooja_ent @jackkybhagnani @vashubhagnani and vouch to not work with them," she added.