Vashu Bhagnani lashes out at David Dhawan:Says ‘Coolie No. 1 incurred a loss of ₹27 crore; Varun did not inquire after the setback’

Producer Vashu Bhagnani, on Friday, expressed displeasure over the use of the song ‘Chunari Chunari’ in the film ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’. The film has been directed by David Dhawan and produced by Ramesh Taurani’s Tips banner. In a virtual press conference, Bhagnani said that he had discussed making a remake of the film Biwi No. 1 with David Dhawan. He claimed that he suffered a loss of about ₹27 crore from Coolie No. 1, which was released in 2020. According to him, David Dhawan was handling the entire production and expenditure of the film. He said, ‘I was a producer only in name. I had given David Dhawan about ₹70 crore for this film. During the time of Covid, David Dhawan had said that he would compensate for the losses in the future, and then work on Biwi No. 1 started.’ Vashu called David Dhawan and asked a question According to Vashu Bhagnani, the film was worked on for about six months. Later, David Dhawan’s elder son Rohit Dhawan told him that the script was not ready, after which he did not rush the project. After this, he came to know that Ramesh Taurani and David Dhawan were making a new film, in which the song ‘Chunari Chunari’ was used. Vashu said that he called David Dhawan and questioned him about it. He said that the audio rights of Biwi No. 1 were sold to Tips at the time of release, but the video was being used without their permission. In this matter, his company sent a letter to the court, after which the Katihar Court of Bihar ordered a status quo. Varun did not inquire after the loss: Bhagnani Vashu Bhagnani said, ‘David Dhawan is using the same song from my production’s film in his son’s film. At least he should have told me first. If he had talked, I would have given the NOC.’ Vashu also mentioned Varun Dhawan in the press conference. He said that after the loss of the film Coolie No. 1, Varun Dhawan never inquired about his well-being.