Atul Kasbekar has finally spoken up. The head of Bling
Entertainment, which produced Neerja (2016), has put forth a post on social
media blasting the family of Neerja Bhanot. Not just that, he even brings to
notice the fact that now that the movie has done well at the box-office, the
Bhanots are now demanding much more money than stated in their contract. Check
out his statement below:
Atul Kasbekar Producer Of Neerja
Statement from Bling Unplugged, co-producers of the
motion picture: 'Neerja'
At the outset, again, we'd like to say that we are immensely grateful that the
Bhanot family trusted us with making a movie on the life of braveheart, Neerja
Bhanot.
We started the exercise of making a difficult film with utmost honesty and the
effusive acclaim the film has received is testament to the fact that we
succeeded in our endeavour.
The facts of the case are simply thus:
Bling had acquired the rights to make 'Neerja' from the Bhanot family. The
agreement between Bhanots and Bling clearly spelt out that Bhanots would be
paid a fixed upfront amount (which was paid as per the timelines) and a
variable amount, which was to be computed as a share of net profits that Bling
would receive.
It was always abundantly clear that we would partner with a studio, in this
case FoxStar India.
The Bhanot family was always aware of the same and have in fact met the studio
reps on many occasions.
To imply otherwise is simply untrue.
Integrity is a very important aspect of Bling's values and Bling is committed
to meeting all its contractual commitments.
All financial transactions post release have been shared with the Bhanot family
immediately and in a transparent manner.
Their share of the profits, which is a share of ours, has been immediately
offered.
They have declined to accept the same and now wish to get a share of the studio
profits.
This is effectively a retrospective negotiation and not as per what is signed
by them years ago.
It is unfortunate that despite having a clear contractual arrangement the Bhanots
have decided to dispute the financial understanding at this belated stage.
To reiterate, the amounts due to the Bhanots, as per the existing contract have
been repeatedly offered by us to them.
To imply anything otherwise, is simply untrue.
Sincerely
Atul Kasbekar
CMD
Bling Entertainment
For those who've come in late, the Bhanot family had
threatened to drag the producers of the Sonam Kapoor starrer film to the court
yesterday. Even though they didn't let out details of the case, Neerja's
brother Aneesh had quipped, “I will not comment on this issue at this stage.
All I can tell you is that we will not tolerate injustice.”
Sonam Kapoor In A Still From Neerja
All we can say is that it's not heartening to see the
makers of such a beautiful film (Neerja) be at loggerheads with the members of
the family who gave them the rights to make a film on one of India's topmost
braveheart. May this animosity end!
Image Source: youtube/foxstarhindi & twitter/sonamkapoor