Fresh trouble seems to be brewing for Firoz Nadiadwala and his next, 'Welcome Back'. Furqan Khan, the film's co-producer and owner of Swiss Entertainment Pvt Ltd, has issued a public notice against Nadiadwala for allegedly failing to reimburse the production budget of nearly Rs 48 crore.
Says Khan, "I had not taken action until now because of my rapport with Anees (Bazmee) bhai who has directed the film. He had promised to help resolve these financial issues with the producer. But I have been forced to issue a public notice and will move the High Court for a stay order on its release."
Nadiadwala is said to have sold both 'Welcome Back' and 'Phir Hera Pheri' to production studio Eros International for Rs 130 crore, and Khan, in the capacity of a financier, has the rights to the intellectual property, negatives, print material and derivative works. The notice, which is in mid-day's possession, reads, "Since BIG (Nadiadwala's company) has repeatedly defaulted on repayment of our dues, the film cannot be released on any platform, including by theatrical exploitation, until our entire dues are paid."
Khan adds, "He had given me two separate cheques of Rs 32 crore and Rs 15.80 crore. But they bounced when I tried encashing them on July 4 and then on July 8. He has to clear my dues anyhow."
While Nadiadwala did not respond to our text messages, Bazmee says: "The dues shall be cleared in the coming week and I am saying this on behalf of producer Firoz Nadiadwala."
