Tahir Bhasin's dues not paid, shoot starts without him

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin, who was supposed to be a part of Kushan Nandy’s film Babumoshai Bandook-baaz, along with actors Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Chitrangada Singh, will not be a part of the film anymore. And if sources are to be believed, the actor, who impressed many with his suave villain role in Mardaani has not even been paid his dues yet by the film’s makers for his earlier schedules.

The actor, who was earlier a part of the project had even started shooting for the film in West Bengal’s Burdwan and Bolpur districts. However, the film’s schedule came to an abrupt end when the makers ran into some trouble with the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India regarding the number of technicians needed and the film went into a limbo.

Ever since the episode, Tahir had been waiting to start shooting and had signed Force 2 in the meantime. But now, word has it that the makers of the film have already started the shoot afresh in new locations in UP without Tahir and have yet to clear his dues.

A source from the industry informs us, “They have not cleared Tahir’s dues, they don’t even answer calls or reply to messages regarding payment. So obviously when they have not cleared his dues, how will they just call him for the shoot and why will Tahir shoot the film in such a case?”

Speaking to us, Tahir’s spokesperson said, “We would not like to comment on this as Tahir’s dues remain unpaid from the earlier schedule.”

However, when we contacted director Kushan Nandy, the filmmaker said, “We are not using anything from what we shot in the past. It’s the same story but we are shooting it afresh.” About the film’s casting, he said, “Characters and parts of the script have undergone changes so all of the cast apart from Nawaz and Chitra have changed.”

The director, however, did not reply to our questions on whether Tahir’s dues for the film were yet to be paid and chose to remain silent on the matter.