A complaint against Bollywood actress Surveen Chawla has been registered by a Hoshiarpur-based businessman and strategic investor. The actress along with brother Manvinder Singh and associate Akshay Thakkar has been booked for non-payment of dues which the trio borrowed from the complainant.
According to the report registered at Hoshiarpur police station, the trio promised complainant Satyapal Gupta to return the borrowed sum along with profits earned after the release of the film but have failed to do so.
Satyapal Gupta who is the sole proprietor of SV International alleges that in 2014 Surveen, Manwinder Singh and Akshay Thakkar asked him to invest Rs 1 crore for their film Nil Battey Sannata which they claimed to produce. They promised to return the Rs 50 lakh within six months however, Gupta paid Rs 51 lakh only out of which Rs 11 lakh got cancelled due to technical issues.
Gupta who claims to knows Manwinder Singh through the association with his son, also reported that of the Rs 51 lakh, Rs 11 lakh would be given to Surveen Chawla directly. Therefore, the businessman partially paid the amount in instalments with the first payment of Rs 9 lakh being paid on June 16, 2014, from the account of his firm. On June 19, 2014, he deposited Rs11 lakh which went to Surveen Chawla, on June 20, 2014, he deposited Rs 11 lakh and on June 23, 2014, he deposited Rs 10 lakh. He made two payments of Rs 5 lakh each through his associate firm Grey Motors.
Gupta further reported that Surveen met his son on many occasions and assured them of a payment of Rs 70 lakh within six months from the release of the film. However, when the film released on April 22, 2016, the trio cut all connections with Gupta and refused to respond to his emails.
The film went on to collect Rs 3 crore in its opening week and became a commercial success. It had an impressive six-week run at the box office and its lifetime collections were around Rs 7 crore.
Nil Battey Sannata stars Swara Bhaskar, Ria Shukla, Ratna Pathak Shah and Pankaj Tripathi. Helmed by Bareily ki Barfi director, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, the film received critical acclamation from many.
