This morning, we were startled to wake up to a WhatsApp message from the makers of Athiya Shetty-Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Motichoor Chaknachoor, inviting us for the screening of their film at PVR ECX, Citi Mall at 7 pm on Nov 14. For those who’ve come in late, just two days back, we broke the news that the movie may not hit theatres on Nov 15 as a lot of cast & crew members have complained to the FWICE about the non-payment of dues.
We hear that FWICE had held Bhatia from releasing the film, until payments were cleared. There were also rumours that a civil court in Bihar has put a stay on the release of the film, after one local distributor claimed the rights to the film with relevant documents to support his claim.
After receiving the screening invite, we immediately contacted B.N Tiwari (President, FWICE) to know what’s the update and if the payments have been cleared. He confirmed to us that Bhatia gave out a few cheques last evening and that he has given a green signal to the producer to release his film on Nov 15.
Those who received their cheques were actors like Navnit Parihar, Abhishek Dutta and a few more crew members. We had also told you that Athiya Shetty has also been made part-payment but the actress has refrained from bringing out the issue in public, to avoid any ugly scene.
Interestingly, SpotboyE.com has also come to know that the cheques which Bhatia has given, last evening, are post-dated. Now, considering Bhatia’s history, there is still a big question mark on the cheques being in cashed on the mentioned dates. And that’s why we questioned Tiwari that what if these cheques bounce and he replied, “Agar industry mein rehna hai toh paisa dena padega, nahi toh dukaan bandh karni padegi.”
However, another source from the production house told us that all the decks have not been paid, and the movie is still in limbo. “Bhatia is acting cool by sending these invites,” added the source.
We texted Bhatia about the same and requested him to confirm in a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if his movie is coming on time or not, but the elusive man did not respond. Strange!
Image Source:- instagram/filmmotichoorchaknachoor/ athiyashetty, youtube/viacom18studios
Image Source:- instagram/filmmotichoorchaknachoor/ athiyashetty, youtube/viacom18studios