Shailendra Singh: ‘Don’t want money, I just want credit’

A still from the film

It's heartbreaking to have your labour of love lie in the cans for 12 years. Last week, director Shoojit Sircar told mid-day that he was trying to resolve matters so that Shoebite, which has been mired in legal issues, could have an OTT release (Out of the limbo, Mar 31). Now, Percept Pictures Company's Shailendra Singh, who had filed an injunction against the film in 2012, says that he will support its release as long as the makers give him due credit.

The poignant drama, which marked Sircar's first collaboration with Amitabh Bachchan, has had a turbulent history. In 2007, Singh had originally announced the film as Johnny Walker with Bachchan and Sircar. However, the project didn't roll, and the director went on to make Shoebite with UTV Motion Pictures. That led Singh to file an injunction against its release in 2012. Since then, both Bachchan and Sircar have often expressed their desire to have Shoebite reach the audience.

Shailendra Singh and Shoojit Sircar

Singh rues that the episode is the perfect example of "what Bollywood does to independent filmmakers". "Johnny Walker was initiated by me. I paid a Rs 4 crore cheque to Amitabh Bachchan; at that time, he didn't know who Shoojit was. I chose Shoojit and took him to meet Amit ji for the narration. I spent R86 lakh as Shoojit went on a 20-city recce. Yes, Amit ji later returned my money. Amit ji wanted to become its producer by getting AB Corp on board. When I rejected [the idea], they changed the movie's name and went to Ronnie Screwvala."

Twelve years on, Singh says he doesn't want to block its release anymore. He wants to come to an understanding with the actor-director duo. "I don't want to block the film. I want a transparent dialogue among the three of us about what transpired. Shoebite is a brilliant story, and I want them to acknowledge that Johnny Walker was my film and this is what happened. I don't want an apology because nobody will give it. I don't want money or compensation either, I just want credit. I want a big slide to come in the film's beginning, thanking me for it. I had gifted the title Singh Is Kinng [2008] to Akshay Kumar; similarly, I gave the title Chak De [India, 2007] to Aditya Chopra. They both thanked me in the credits. Give me credit for Shoebite as it originated from me, and let's get on with it."