New Delhi: Actor Payal Rajput has accused a producer for threatening to ban her from Telugu cinema because she refused to promote a film without the 'clearance of dues'. Payal took to her official social media handle to share her side of the story. Sharing a post on Sunday evening, Payal spoke about the producer of her delayed film 'Rakshana'.
Meanwhile, the producer also shared that he has lodged a complaint against her with Telugu Film Producers Council (TFPC), Hindustan Times reported.
Payal Rajput's statement against Rakshana producer
"I have a film, Rakshana, shot in 2019 and 2020, originally named 5Ws. The release was delayed and now they’re trying to benefit from my recent success without clearing dues and demanding a promotion. My team communicated my unavailability due to prior commitments, but they threatened to ban me from Telugu cinema,” Payal wrote.
“Our team attempted to negotiate for digital promotion of Rakshana with Payal, suggesting clearing dues with compensation first. However, they refused to compromise, using my name in a way that tarnishes my image, which is unacceptable,” she said.
“In recent meetings, they used inappropriate language, stating that the distributor asked for Payal to showcase certain assets, and if she didn’t, they wouldn’t accept the film. We are now considering legal action because they are not settling the payments and planning to release the film without my authorisation or consent,” she added.
TFPC statement and producer Prandeep Thakore's response to Payal's allegations
Meanwhile, in a media statement shared on Monday, the TFPC shared that the producer of the project had filed a complaint against the actor with the council in March. In the said complaint, filmmaker-producer Prandeep Thakore alleged that Payal was not giving the producer dates to promote his film, which was a violation of the agreement between both parties.
Thakore mentioned that he planned to release his movie Rakshana on 19.4.24 and requested Payal to give dates for promotions of the film, but she refused to do so saying that the film is four years old and advised to release it in OTT,” the statement mentioned.
The statement also alleged that the producer was willing to pay Rs. 6 lak due, provided the actor participated in the promotins, but she failed to do so. It was said that Thakore contacted the actor's manager on Saturday morning to 'resolve the issue amicably', TFPC noted, however, the efforts were not successful.
The Telugu council condemned claims made by Payal about alleged attempts to ban her from the industry, saying the TFPC, "put in all efforts to convince the artiste through her manager for over one and a half months to honour the agreement; but, in vain.”