Producer Ramesh Taurani and the team behind David Dhawan's Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai have finally reacted to the allegations levelled against them by producer Vashu Bhagnani. The makers released an official statement on Wednesday, calling the latter's accusations “baseless” and describing them as a personal attack aimed at affecting the release of their upcoming film.
Team Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai responds to Vashu Bhagnani's claims
In the statement, the team said, "Recently, a series of baseless allegations have been made against us by Mr Vashu Bhagnani. It is amply clear to us that this is a smear campaign driven by personal vendetta, intended to derail the release of our film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai."
The statement also revisited their long association with Vashu Bhagnani, claiming their relationship dates back to 1995. According to the makers, they had once offered him a 50 percent partnership and producer credit on a project where most of the groundwork had already been completed. Referring to Coolie No. 1, the statement added, "Coolie No. 1 went on to become a massive box office hit and gave Mr. Bhagnani a kick-start in the industry."
The team further claimed they chose to stay silent for a long time out of respect for their old relationship with Bhagnani. However, they alleged that he continued spreading misinformation through social media and other platforms. They also questioned his decision to file a legal complaint in a Kathihar court in Bihar, despite the matter being linked to Mumbai.
The statement read, "He decided to take legal action against all associated with our film rather than engage in direct dialogue."
Addressing the music rights issue, the makers maintained that they are the legal owners of the songs Chunnari Chunnari and Ishq Sona Hai. They also made it clear that, since the matter is now sub judice, this would be their only statement regarding the controversy.
The statement ended on a confident note as the team promised audiences “a complete David Dhawan entertainer” with Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, which is scheduled to release on June 5.
What was Vashu Bhagnani's allegation against David Dhawan?
Producer Vashu Bhagnani held a press conference on Friday where he spoke in detail about his ongoing dispute with filmmaker David Dhawan. During the interaction, Vashu claimed that producer Ramesh Taurani and music label Tips no longer have the right to use songs from his film Biwi No 1. He also alleged that the storyline of the upcoming film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai appears similar to Biwi No 1.
Speaking about his equation with David Dhawan, Vashu said, "I informed David ji that I would like to produce Biwi No 1. In Coolie No 1 (2020), we incurred a loss of about 27 crore rupees. Actually, it is a namesake producer. It is David ji who has done everything regarding production and expenditure. I had given a lot of money to David ji for producing that film, nearly Rs 70 crore, which does not even worth of him."
He further spoke about the period after Coolie No 1 released during the COVID phase and added, "This was the time of COVID and David ji said to me, 'Aapka jo bhi nuksaan hua hai, we'll arrange that in future. Let's make Biwi No 1.' As per the discussion, we made Biwi No 1 in six months' time. One day Rohit Dhawan informed me that the screenplay was not made. From its creativity process, I decided not to rush into things. Aaram se pictures banate hai (We'll shoot our films in a relaxed manner)... I incurred a loss of Rs 27 crores from Coolie No 1. Varun never made any effort ki uncle ka nuksaan hua hai; kaun poora karega? (How much has uncle lost? Who'll compensate him?)."
For those unaware, Coolie No 1 was released in 2020 with Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan in the lead roles. The film received poor reviews from critics and also faced heavy trolling online after its release.
Vashu also revealed that he personally reached out to David Dhawan after learning that the song Chunari Chunari from Biwi No 1 was being used in Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. He admitted feeling hurt after discovering that David Dhawan and Ramesh Taurani had come together for the project and said the issue eventually led to a confrontation between them.
The producer further mentioned that the audio rights of Biwi No 1 were sold to Tips at the time of the film’s release. However, according to Vashu, the music label is currently unwilling to discuss the matter with him.
