The industry and media got a shock last week when Sorav Gupta alleged in a press conference that Sunny Deol took money from him multiple times in return for doing a film for his production house, Sundawn Entertainment Pvt Ltd. He further said that Sunny never ended up doing a movie for him. Many other shocking allegations were levelled against the Gadar 2 (2023) star in the press meet.
Advocate Rizwan Merchant, producer Vishal Rana HIT back at allegations of cheating and forgery on Sunny Deol: “Sunny ji has contributed so much to Bollywood. These people, on the other hand, have done NOTHING for the film industry”
Yesterday, on June 1, advocate Rizwan Merchant, representing Sunny Deol, addressed the media and denied the allegations made by Sorav Gupta. At the very onset, Rizwan Merchant said, “No case has been registered against Sunny Deol. An ordinary complaint has been issued, jo kisi ke bhi khilaaf ja sakti hai. The police will conduct an enquiry. As per the Supreme Court guidelines, the police are required to take down the version of not just the complainant but also non-applicant. I am specifically using the word non-applicant and not accused because there’s no FIR. Only after an FIR can you tag a person as accused.”
He added, “We have noted down the points raised in the complaint. And the contents of the complaint are such that forget FIR, it’s not even worthy of a non-cognizable offence.”
Rizwan Merchant then narrated, “In August 2016, Sorav Gupta approached Sunny Deol for a film. A contract was signed based on mutual agreement by both the parties. A few clauses rested on Sorav Gupta’s company that he was supposed to comply with, especially with regard to payment. He had promised that he’s paying a certain amount and the balance payment will be done on specified dates in the future.”
The advocate continued, “When the payment didn’t come as promised, Sunny Deol’s office sent a notice to the producer. Yet, the producer failed to make the payment. Another notice was sent, stating that non-payment amounts to breach of contract. It also said that Sunny Deol will terminate the contract. Sorav didn’t respond to it either. We then wrote to the producer that we are terminating the contract and forfeiting your amount. The forfeit clause is a part of the agreement. It was not our sole decision; it was consensual.”
Rizwan Merchant stated, “The party has issues with the amount being forfeited. They also alleged that Sunny Deol asked for the director and script to be changed. There’s no record; these are all oral allegations. This is an attempt to arm-twist and extort money.”
Rizwan Merchant also revealed, “We are co-operating with the police. Mr Deol is busy with his work. This is the first complaint that has ever come against him which is going to affect not only his career, image, name and reputation but also that of his family. He’ll go to any length to cooperate with the police to show that this is nothing but a false complaint. By no stretch of imagination, Mr Gupta should feel that by arm-twisting, Mr Deol is going to submit to his demand.”
Sorav Gupta even said that Sunny Deol changed the page in the contract and hiked his fees. On this, Rizwan Merchant replied, “This is an absolute false allegation. Mr Gupta, in fact, took the contract stating that he’ll get it signed from his wife. That contract copy has not been returned to us. The copy that we have is signed by Sunny Deol, not by him or his wife. Hence, there’s no question of changing the contract page.”
Producer Vishal Rana was also present along with Rizwan Merchant. He said that he was present in the meeting between Sunny Deol and Sorav Gupta. He stated, “I have worked extensively with Sunny Deol. I made two films with him without any problem. He completed Blank (2019) in 32 days, our upcoming untitled film in just 36 days. He has never arrived late or asked for money, the way the complainants are claiming. There’s also a clause that Sunny Deol was okay with, and that is, if Sunny ji doesn’t shoot, he’ll return the money. But if the producer doesn’t start the shoot, then Sunny ji will not refund.”
Vishal remarked, “Sunny ji and Dharam ji have contributed so much to the industry. These people, on the other hand, have done nothing for the film industry. They are taking advantage of somebody’s celebrity status.”
He further said, “These are financiers and investors, not producers. Also, stories, genres and styles of filmmaking change frequently. If I claim that I narrated a story to an actor in 2016 and that he’ll work with me in 2020, toh mujhse bada bewakoof koi nahin hai. Times have changed. What worked in 2019 will not work in 2024. If I sign an actor without a script or director, I can’t force him to do any film. They kept getting scripts and directors but Sunny ji was not happy with it. I made Blank with him but I had a bound script ready and my director was also on board before signing him.”
Vishal Rana also responded to the allegations that he signed a film called Ram Janmabhoomi and never came for the shoot, citing an increase in fees after Gadar 2’s blockbuster verdict. He said, “Unko uss kahani se koi lena dena nahin hai. Sunny ji told me, ‘They don’t know how to produce. You should help him’. I agreed. They are financiers and Sunny ji gave them the story. If Sunny ji didn’t have the intention to work, why would he provide them with a script? They further said, ‘You are our idol. We grew up watching your films. We don’t want our money back’.”
Rizwan Merchant, meanwhile, was asked about Suneel Darshan’s allegation that Sunny never made full payment of the money generated by overseas distribution of their film Ajay (1996). He said, “It is sub-judice. I’d like to stay away from it.” When asked if Sunny Deol would file a defamation case, the advocate answered, “I can’t comment on it right now.”
Rizwan signed off by appealing to the press, “He (Sorav Gupta) approached the media just to extort money from Sunny Deol. Please don’t allow him.”
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