It looks like people associated with Bollywood are going through a bad phase. Producer and co-founder of KriArj entertainment, Prernaa Arora has been arrested for indulging in financial fraud by Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police. She has been arrested after a complaint was made by famous producer Vashu Bhagnani, who accused her of committing a fraud of Rs. 16 crores.
To quote a press report by Zee News, ‘Prernaa Arora was produced before the Mumbai’s Esplanade court in the financial fraud case after which she was sent to EOW custody till December 10. The court will hear the matter next on Monday for further proceedings.’
For those unaware, KriArj entertainment, as founded by Prernaa Arora and Arjun N Kapoor, is a film production company, which produced and financed critically acclaimed movies like ‘Rustom’, ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’, ‘Padman’ and ‘Pari.’
According to the reports, Vashu Bhagnani, who distributed the film ‘Fanney Khan’, accused Prernaa Arora of not crediting him as the film distributor, in a breach to their agreement, which caused him a loss to the tune of Rs. 16 crores. As a result, he filed a criminal case not only against Prernaa, but also her co-partner in KriArj Entertainment, Arjun N Kapoor, and her mother Protima Arora. When the police raided Prernaa’s premises, they found multiple passports and PAN cards in her possession.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that a producer has got in a legal tussle with Prernaa Arora or her KriArj entertainment. Controversial filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor, whose recent production ‘Kedarnath’, has opened to mixed reviews and a decent box office collection, had accused KriArj entertainment, the original producer of financial management and wastage of resources employed in the production of the movie.
Following a legal tussle, Abhishek Kapoor broke ties with the production company, and for a while, it looked as if ‘Kedarnath’ would be shelved. However, Ronnie Screwvala, who had just come up with his production company ‘RSVP Pictures’, and has produced critically acclaimed movies like ‘Karwaan’ and ‘Pihu’, took over the reins of the movie, which is why ‘Kedarnath’ could release on 7 December.
However, what few people know is that KriArj Entertainment has been a repeat offender. If one remembers, Padmaavat’s original release date was 8 December, and along with it, John Abraham’s much-awaited project, ‘Parmanu’ was to hit the silver screens.
However, thanks to the same reasons for which Abhishek Kapoor broke ties with KriArjEntertainment, that John Abraham was compelled to file three criminal cases against KriArjEntertainment, which delayed the project and extended its release to 25 May.
To make matters worse, John Abraham had to take over as the producer himself, until Zee Studios helped him out in terms of film distribution. Thankfully, the content of the movie remained intact, and despite negative reviews by left-liberals, Parmanu emerged to be a box office success. As such, it’s payback time for Prernaa Arora, who thought she could earn some quick bucks and get away without any trouble.