Meet man with 26 flops, no hits in 23 years, last 2 films lost Rs 450 crore, alleged to have not paid cast, crew since..

Filmmaking is a fickle business. In a field where success is governed by several arbitrary factors, there is no guarantee of sustained success. Yet, some makers manage to build up a credible record due to repeated success. Others have to wait longer for their films to work. Amid this is one filmmaker, who has surprisingly not given a single hit in 23 years, a period that has seen him deliver 26 back-to-back flops.

The producer with 26 flops in 23 years

Vashu Bhagnani, the founder of Pooja Entertainment, was one of the foremost and most successful film producers in Bollywood in the 90s. Bhagnani began his production career with the 1995 superhit Coolie No 1. Over the next few years, he gave several hits like Hero No 1, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, and Biwi No 1. However, his luck turned for the worse with the turn of the century. His next film – Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya – flopped. This was followed by two sleeper hits in 2001 – Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai and Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein. But these two were the last successful films produced by Vashu Bhagnani. Since 2001, Bhagnani has produced 26 films, none of which have worked at the box office. These include big budget flops such as Om Jai Jagadish, Himmatwala, Humshakals, Bell Bottom, etc. The last two films under Pooja Entertainment – Ganapath and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan – had combined budgets of Rs 550 crore. But the films together only managed Rs 100 crore at the box office, losing as much as Rs 450 crore.

Akshay Kumar with Vashu Bhagnani

Pooja Entertainment’s recent financial woes

Last month, several crew and cast members of films produced by Pooja Entertainment alleged that they have not been paid for their work, in some cases for over two years. It was also reported that Bhagnani had incurred a debt of over Rs 250 crore, and to pay it off, he sold off his office and laid off some staff. While the producer denied selling the office or layoffs, the allegations of non-payment continue. A news report even claimed that top stars like Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff also have unpaid dues from Pooja Entertainment.

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