PVR Inox Pictures is preparing to take veteran Bollywood producer Vashu Bhagnani and his banner, Puja Entertainment, to court. The multiplex giant is moving to recover a heavy Rs 100 crore refundable advance paid as part of a three-film distribution deal. The partnership covered the theatrical releases of Mission Raniganj, Ganapath, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
The decision follows the terrible performance of all three high-budget titles at the Indian box office. Together, the movies barely managed to scrape together Rs 100 crore in total theatrical collections. According to a detailed report by Bollywood Hungama, the original contract required Puja Entertainment to refund any unrecovered balance from that initial advance if the box office numbers failed to offset the payment.
This legal threat piles onto a growing stack of industry headaches for Bhagnani. The veteran filmmaker recently started his own legal battle against Ramesh Taurani’s Tips and the team behind David Dhawan’s upcoming comedy film. Bhagnani claims they committed copyright infringement by using intellectual property and songs from his 1999 hit movie Biwi No 1 without permission.
He recently stated that he would apologize and back off if the makers of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai did not actually lift scenes or music from the classic film. For now, PVR Inox Pictures is pressing ahead to protect its financial interests after a string of theatrical disasters left Puja Entertainment facing intense cash flow strain.