Mumbai, Feb 10 (IANS): Producers Varun and Mansi Bagla, who lead Mini Films, have refuted allegations made by former Uttarakhand CM’s Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s daughter Arushi Nishank, who accused them of financial misconduct involving Rs. 4 crore for a role for their upcoming film.
In an official statement, the producers stated that the claims made by Arushi Nishank are “completely false and misleading.”
“This is a civil dispute, and we are taking the necessary legal recourse to address the matter. Further, Arushi Nishank approached us in Mumbai, persistently following up for a meeting with us, stating that she is the daughter of the ex-minister of Uttarakhand and wanted to tie up with us through her entity, Himshri Films, for our film.”
The statement further read: “She claimed she could bring our film to Uttarakhand, as she had a strong political hold at Uttarakhand and could get many things done easily for us and for our film. However, we politely refused her, stating that we do not need any support as we were already progressing with our film.”
“She later expressed her desire to become a heroine and requested to us for a small role in exchange for investing in the film, stating that investing in the film would help her achieve this. She claimed it would also position her as the face of Uttarakhand and boost her political career too. To persuade us, she told us about her strong ties with Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, mentioning to us how she had invited him to the set of her web series Life Hill Gayi and promised to do the same for our film. However, once she came on board, she began threatening and demanding a larger role as a parallel lead of the Film.
“While we were shooting in Dehradun, her husband, Abhinav Pant—who often tried to attract us with his astrological talks and frequently asked for our kundali—invited us to his construction site near Dehradun Airport, close to Thano Chowk.”
“A car took us to a half constructed building, where he threatened us to give Arushi a parallel lead role in the film. Refusing to bow down to their pressure, we removed her from the film, terminating her involvement. The threats to defame were given to us if we did not meet their demands.”
“Despite this, she spread false PR news, claiming to be a trio in the film with our lead cast. Arushi is media-hungry person and has temperamental issues. The accusations are entirely fabricated, and our legal team is taking necessary action. The production house urges the media and public to dismiss these false claims and await the legal resolution.”
It was on February 8, when Aarushi claimed to be duped in lieu of a film. She was asked to pay Rs 5 crore for a film role, and was told that she would earn 3 times the returns once the movie is made. Chuffed with the offer, Aarushi paid around Rs 4 crore.
Aarushi Nishank alleged that the accused told her that this investment will give 20 percent profit to her firm, which will be around Rs 15 crores. Both of them told Aarushi that she will finalise the script of her important role on her own and will cast her in the role as per their satisfaction.
The accused even told Aarushi that if she is not satisfied with her role, then her money will be returned with 15 percent annual interest.
However, she neither got the role nor got her money back. When there was no result for a long time, Aarushi realised the fraud. She filed a case in Kotwali city of Dehradun. Police have started an investigation and are looking for the culprits. A case has been registered against Manasi Varun and Varun Pramod, both residents of Mumbai.