Claiming
the
filmmaker
owes
the
production
company
Rs.
12
lakhs,
Pritish
Nandy
Communications
has
sent
Hyderabad-based
director
Mani
Shankar
a
letter-of-objection
regarding
the
release
of
the
Mani-directed
Mukhbiir
which
is
all
set
for
release
on
June
27.
The
letter
signed
by
PNC's
chief
operating
officer
Bobbie
Ghosh
warns
Mani
Shankar
that
if
the
money
owed
to
PNC
by
Mani
is
not
paid
up,
PNC
will
protest
against
the
release
of
Mukhbiir
to
various
film
associations.
But
Mukhbiir
producer
Sudish
Rambhotla
of
the
Hyderabad-based
company
Color
Chips
is
unfazed.
"Mukhbiir
is
not
Mani
Shankar's
property.
He
isn't
the
producer.
I
am.
How
can
Mr.
Nandy
stop
it
from
release
just
because
Mani
owes
him
money?
If
the
architect
owes
money
to
someone
you
can't
stop
the
owner
of
a
building
from
entering
it."
Continues
Rambhotla,
"I
told
Mr.
Nandy
this.
If
the
company
wants
to
put
pressure
on
Mani,
my
film
can't
be
a
casualty.
This
letter
has
larger
ramifications.
How
can
the
producer
be
held
responsible
for
the
director's
liabilities?
If
tomorrow
Mani
owes
me
money
should
I
stop
Pritish
Nandy
from
releasing
his
film?"
Mani
Shankar
tries
hard
to
conceal
his
annoyance.
"The
facts
speak
for
themselves.
Mr.
Nandy
entered
into
an
agreement
with
me.
And
I
gave
him
two
bound
scripts
with
dialogues.
One
was
a
period
film
Chanakya
and
the
other
was
a
hi-tech
thriller
called
Chip
Chor,
an
ideal
vehicle
for
an
actor
like
Sammir
Dattani.
Mr.
Nandy
was
supposed
to
pay
me
another
ten
lakhs
after
receiving
the
script.
I've
already
narrated
the
scripts
to
various
actors
like
John
Abraham,
Priyanka
Chopra
and
Zayed
Khan.
Mr
Nandy
or
his
daughter
Rongita
was
present
during
some
narrations.
I've
tried
to
get
both
projects
started.
If
for
whatever
reasons
he
couldn't
get
the
projects
started,
there's
no
provision
in
our
contract
for
me
to
refund
the
money.
As
a
gentleman,
he
should've
requested
me
to
refund
the
money
and
take
back
the
scripts.
Instead
he
sends
me
a
letter
saying
I
never
fulfilled
my
agreement,
meaning
I
never
gave
him
the
scripts
in
the
first
place.
This,
after
I've
narrated
the
subjects
to
so
many
actors
in
the
industry.
I'm
not
responsible
for
the
projects
not
taking
off.
His
actions
are
not
worthy
of
a
man
of
his
stature."
Mani
is
in
agreement
with
the
Mukhbiir
producer
that
the
film
has
nothing
to
do
with
his
differences
with
PNC.
"I'm
only
a
technician
for
Mukhbiir.
I've
no
equity
in
it.
These
are
bullying
tactics.
I'm
not
bothered
at
all.
This
kind
of
behaviour
is
common
practice
in
Mumbai.
Mr
Nandy
has
no
case
in
any
court
of
law
or
before
any
film
association.
This
is
happening
because
I'm
not
from
Mumbai
and
people
in
Bollywood
think
they
can
bully
me.
But
I'm
not
losing
a
day's
sleep
over
this
irrelevant
matter."
Pritish
Nandy
responds
"Tell
me,
what
option
does
a
producer
have
when
a
director
takes
the
money
and
disappears?
We
at
PNC
are
not
unethical.
Mani,
I
suspect,
is
a
capable
director.
He
narrated
his
scripts
so
eloquently.
He
emailed
us
two
scripts
to
read.
We
never
bought
them.
The
point
is
not
the
money
but
the
attitude.
Rs.12
Lakhs
is
chickenshit.
He
doesn't
even
respond
to
our
calls!
The
Mukhbiir
producer
Sudhish
Rambhotla
has
his
own
litany
of
complaints
against
Mani.
When
I
spoke
to
him
he
was
so
unhappy.
See,
there's
this
alarming
trend
developing
among
a
certain
group
of
filmmakers
who
have
a
name
but
aren't
doing
too
much
work.
They
come
with
these
ideas,
sign
a
contract
and
are
never
to
be
traced
again.
This
has
become
a
constant
problem
with
middle-rank
directors.
They
take
a
sizeable
sum
of
money
and
then
live
comfortably
for
a
while.
And
then
the
producer
realizes
the
script
belongs
to
someone
else.
Such
things
happen
in
our
industry
because
we
work
more
on
trust
than
paper-work.
Today
creativity
is
totally
irrelevant.
Money
is
all.
PNC
is
here
to
make
movies.
I
guess
we're
among
the
last
of
the
Mohicans."
Story first published: Monday, June 16, 2008, 12:31 [IST]