Feroze Nadiadwala sued; stay order on the film asked for

There seems to be no respite for Prakash Jha's Aarakshan scheduled to release worldwide this Friday.

As if the protests by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes are not enough, the film is now caught in a monetary dispute between co-producer Feroze Nadiadwala and Sushil Gupta of G G Photo.

The latter is suing the former to the tune of R 3.75 crore (including interest) for defaulting on repayment of dues.

However, Jha maintained: "Prakash Jha Productions is the sole rights-holder of Aarakshan. All rights and authority regarding the business of Aarakshan are vested with Prakash Jha Productions.

The cheque-bouncing issue is between Feroze A Nadiadwala and Sushil Gupta. It has nothing to do with Aarakshan. Mr Nadiadwala is sorting it out. Aarakshan will release worldwide on August 12 as per schedule."

Reportedly, Feroze had borrowed R 3.50 crore from Gupta and had to repay Rs 3.75 crore including interest on the loan.

However, the cheques issued by the movie producer bounced, and consequently the financers filed the suit against him in the Madras High Court. And considering his involvement in the movie, they had appealed for a stay on its release.

On his part, Feroze maintained that the Madras High Court order relates to a money transaction between him and Sushil Gupta of G G Photo.

"As far as Aarakshan is concerned, Prakash Jha Productions has the sole rights to the film, and complete authority to deal with the business of the film.

And Prakash Jha Productions has not entered into any agreement with Sushil Gupta of G G Photo, " he stated, adding that he is resolving the issue with Gupta.

The film, featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Manoj Bajpai, Deepika Padukone and Pratiek, has been in the news for its story based on the caste-based reservation policy in India.