Sonarika Bhadoria and other Dastaan-E-Mohabbat Salim Anarkali actors await their dues from the show

Dastaan-E-Mohabbat Salim Anarkali launched back in October 2018 and had to be pulled off-air just in 3 months. While the show did wrap up rather sooner than expected, the team did shoot for over 6 months for the show and many, are awaiting their dues so far. Though not many speak about it, actors from the show have waited for over 2 and a half years until they decided to finally speak up.

Sonarika told ETimes, “They owed me `80 lakhs, but I have only been paid `7 to `8 lakhs so far. I have taken the legal route and I hope to get what is due to me.” Among others who continue to await their dues are actors Shahbaz Khan, Gurdip Punjj, Tassnim Sheikh, and Anand Goradia. While Anand's dues amount to 5-6 lakhs, the other three actors have a sum has huge as 10 lakhs pending. After not getting any response from producer Anirudh Pathkar, they have now urged CINTAA to interfere.

Shahbaz, who played Akbar, went on to tell the daily how they started shooting ahead of the launch and since it is their hard earner money, they must get it. He mentioned how they did not get any response from the producer and given the tough times that everyone is dealing with, they are sitting at home. He further mentioned how he feels that this is exploitation and must stop.

Tassnim went on to say, “I feel cheated. I played my part with all diligence; I wore a 25-kilo lehenga with jewellery, and suffered so much weight on my body only to not receive my money! It’s sad that we have to keep contacting the production house and ask for our money.”

As for Gurdip, she too feels that if the producers went over budget, they must look into it and one cannot not pay their actors. She said how they have been quiet all this while but now was the time to speak up. Meanwhile, Anand went on to say how he has been having a difficult time and his mother passed away a few months ago, but he needed money for her treatment and he did not get any response from the production house when trying to contact them. He concluded by saying that they must understand the gravity of the situation and release their dues.

As for Anirudh, he said, “Salim Anarkali was abruptly pulled off air in three months. We incurred huge losses. After that the pandemic struck. I haven’t refused to pay, but because of the losses I incurred, I had to shut my own production house. Now, I am trying to earn as a writer and pay everyone. It will take time.”

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