Paltan crew members allege non-payment of dues by producer

Months after JP Dutta's film hit screens, Gurmeet Choudhary and other unit hands say they haven't been compensated in full; maker refutes allegations

It has been six months since JP Dutta's war drama Paltan hit theatres, but some of the cast and crew members claim they haven't received their remuneration in full yet. Those aggrieved include Gurmeet Choudhary, one of the male leads in the Arjun Rampal and Sonu Sood-starrer, and Sonal Chauhan's makeup artist.

A disgruntled Choudhary said, "My staff [hair and make-up] and I haven't received our payments." However, the actor refused to divulge further details about the pending amount or his contract with the studio.

Choudhary and Nidhi Dutta

Dr Chien Ho Liao, who played the antagonist in the military drama, stated that he has been visiting Dutta's office every alternate week to settle his dues, but to no avail. "When I was offered the film, we verbally agreed on the remuneration. I trusted JP sir as he is an industry veteran. I regret not signing the contract. More than 50 per cent of my money is pending," rued the actor. Arjun Bundela, Chauhan's makeup artist, too had a similar story to share.

"They assured me that the payment will be cleared by December, but I am yet to receive Rs 90,000 from them. Whenever I call up JP Films, they maintain that the money will be released once Zee Studios [co-producer] pays them. To my knowledge, Zee has already cleared the money."

JP Dutta

Another cast member, Nelson Liao, said that he has made several rounds of the studio over the past four months. "My initial payment came on time, but after the film's release, I haven't received a penny. Since it is not a big amount, I am not seeking legal recourse."

This is not the first instance of a crew member crying foul - last August, Nigam Bomzan, the director of photography on the project, had slapped a notice to the makers over non-payment of dues.

When we reached out to Dutta's daughter Nidhi, she asserted that the studio had cleared all payments before the film's release last September. "Everyone knows where our office is. If they have any issues regarding non-payment of dues, they are welcome to meet us. They can also call my father, yet none of them have done it," she said.

On being pointed out that the cast members claim their multiple rounds of the Andheri office have not yielded results, she refutes the allegation. "Nobody has approached us. I would also ask Gurmeet to produce proof regarding the so-called dues. We haven't defaulted on our payments. If someone tries to defame my father or our company, I won't take it lying down."

Rampal, on his part, said, "I didn't have any payment hassle with the studio."

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