It's not even a month since first time director Sojan Joseph's Alert 24x7 went on floor, and it has already run into financial trouble.
According to sources, their camera equipment has been seized by a hotel in Goa, where a section of the crew was staying.
The camera hasn't been released till date, due to lack of payment. Also, cheques issued to senior actors like Anupam Kher and various production departments have bounced.
'I won't shoot'
Apparently, when some crew members informed Sanjay Dutt, who plays the lead in the movie, about this, he assured them that he won't give further dates until their moneys are paid. "Sanju sir was very angry when he heard of the developments, " says our source..
A crew member, on condition of anonymity, said that they were promised payment every Friday after the shoot started on July 5 with Raveena Tandon, Anupam Kher, Kabir Bedi and Mohan Kapoor. "When we weren't paid for the first week, we asked for our money.
We were told that the dues will be cleared the next day, but that 'next day' never came, " he reveals, adding that when they stopped work, producer Hennry, issued the appropriate cheques. However, this wasn't the end of their troubles.
A 'bouncing' story
The source further adds, "All the cheques bounced. Those issued to hotels like O Asia and Santana Beach Resort in Candolim, where the crew was staying were also not cleared. The hotels then confiscated the camera equipment."
Apparently, a Red Camera worth R 1.5 crore owned by Reliance Media Works is still at Goa's Santana Beach Resort.
Thus, the camera attendants can't leave till the resort's bill of about R 8 lakh is cleared. Our source further explains that the total tab could go up to R 50 lakh, considering the camera rent and attendants' fees.
Another source associated with the production attributes the jumble to a certain Devang Dholakia and Farid Aamir. "They are
the men in charge and they haven't made contracts for many people on board Alert 24x7.
Both of them who are in Mumbai, should be blamed more than the producer, " he says. However when contacted, Farid denied the allegations and said that all the payments have been made.
However, Anupam Kher confirmed that the cheque issued to him bounced. But he reasons, "Sometimes producers get into problems all of a sudden.
We were all given a very good treatment on the location. When my manager spoke to him about the cheque not getting cleared, he asked to deposit it in the coming week."
The film's producer, known only as Hennry, says, "The shoot extended by 10 days and the additional money got a little late.
We worked with five cameras, so we finished work sooner than anticipated. Everything is on schedule now and I'll be coming to Mumbai to ensure that everyone gets their money."
