‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ Flop Cripples Pooja Entertainment Production House
Unprecedented adjustments and changes abound as the company grapples with losses and debts.
After all the hype, promos and fanfare, Bollywood’s action flick Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has far from lived up to expectations. And now top honcho Vashu Bhagnani of the concerned production house – Pooja Entertainment – is more than feeling the pinch. Indeed, the ambitious April 10th release has taken in a paltry Rs. 60 Crore against a gigantic budget of Rs. 350 Crore.
No expense was spared in making the Ali Abbas Zafar-directed movie, thanks to the elaborate actions sequences, CGI, star power and music. But unfortunately, all this was not enough to dazzle Indian audiences, leaving Bhagnani’s production company teetering on bankruptcy. This is hardly the kind of misfortune expected from the prolific 38-year-old Production House which boasts such classics as Coolie No.1, Hero No.1 and Biwi No.1. But now, it seems that “No.1” is no more the way to describe the House.
The slide began in 2021 with the release Bell Bottom, also an action-thriller starring Akshay Kumar. But the Covid pandemic threw a spanner in the works, resulting in Pooja Entertainment only recouping a third of its Rs. 150 Crore budget. And now the exacerbated predicament is so dismal that the distraught Mr. Bhagnani has had to hurriedly sell his 7-story Mumbai office building as well as continue a 3-year-trend of laying off employees and artists.
The desperate move comes in an attempt by the House boss to make good his debts amounting to an overwhelming Rs. 250 Crore. What’s more, Mr. Bhagnani has turned the subject of a deluge of unsavoury posts on social media platforms, mercilessly rebuking him for not meeting mounting payments. Yes, the company is still in the red while it has dispensed with 4/5ths of its staff and Mr. Bhagnani has shifted operations to a two-bedroom apartment in the city’s Juhu suburb. How’s that for downsizing?
