The upcoming web series Showstopper, starring Zeenat Aman, Shweta Tiwari, and Digangana Suryavanshi, had created a controversy back in January 2022, when a video of Shweta Tiwari saying, “Meri bra ka size bhagwan le rahe hain,” went viral from a press conference. And now, the show is back in the headlines, and this time for non-payment issues against director-producer Manish Harishankar. We have learnt from multiple sources that other than Zeenat Aman, no other cast and crew members have been paid in full.
“The actors and the support staff are yet to receive their payments. Only a percentage of their amount was paid by the producer. Besides the actors, many people from the crew have complained about this,” a source tells us, adding, “The show has now gone on halt mode, and the last episode hasn’t been shot yet, so we don’t know how will post production happen. None of the investors have seen their money return as the show still has not been picked by any OTT platforms, there are no takers, and it is likely to get shelved only.”
Confirming on record that he hasn’t got his payments, Krishan Parmar, the official stylist on board tells us, “I was roped in for Digangana’s styling with a per day assured sum. Shweta’s personal stylist also hasn’t been paid; I talked to him but he has given up. My billable amount was ₹125K but only ₹25K was paid. Whenever I approach the line producer Narendra Jani for the payments, he tells me that they’ve pitched the series to platforms and once it’s sold, everyone’s payments would be cleared. But I can’t see that happening ever.”
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Parmar reveals that several crew members are going through the same ordeal but they are scared to go on record because they fear they might never get their money from the producers. “How are the rumours floating that 90% of payments have been cleared? I still have messages from last November begging to the line producers where I’ve been asking them to pay at least the basic amount. Even the art director and sound guys weren’t paid in advance, the shoot got delayed because of that. Manish is lying. I have sent the bills numerous times, I have given my account details but no response from him. He just conveys messages through Narendra, but nothing concrete,” he claims.
THE PRODUCER DEFENDS
Meanwhile, we also reach out to Manish regarding the allegations, who is backing as well as directing the film under MH Films, and he claims he has already paid the lead actors in full.
He says, “For other supporting actors, we have to hold 10-15% of the total payment, which is given after dubbing etc. There is no issue as such. Whatever little payment is pending from our side, it’s because the post production process is still on. From my budget, I have cleared 90% of the payments. No one has approached me for their payments to get cleared. This is my third film, aaj tak koi issue nahi hua hai. I agree that there has been a delay because of the uncertainty on OTT. If anyone has any issues, please connect with me.”