CINTAA to intervene in Shilpa-Benaifer battle

The discord between actress Shilpa Shinde and producer Benaifer Kohli has come to a point where a sit- down discussion looks almost impossible between the aggrieved parties. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Cine & TV Artistes Association (Cintaa) has convened an emergency confidential meeting to hear both the parties and decide on the course of action on Thursday evening. The subject of the meeting will be Shilpa’s reluctance to serve the 90-day notice period. Apparently, according to the contractual obligations, the actress will not just have to serve the notice period but will also have to work with the production house for a year at least before finally moving out.

Talking about the same, producer Binaifer Kohli says, “I have faith in Cintaa and I think the decision will go in my favour as I am right. I have three contract agreements, which clearly state she will have to work with us for two years (she has already completed one year) and then serve a 90-day notice period before moving out. If I let her go tomorrow, other actors will also take me for granted. So she will have to continue at all costs. If she dishonours Cintaa’s decision then I will drag her to court and make sure justice is done in this matter.”

The actress has a different point of view. She says, “Isn’t it strange that despite me giving them problems they still want to work with me? But honestly, I can’t bear them for nine seconds after all the harassment they have caused me. How can I be expected to serve a 90-day notice period? When the show shuts down we are not given any notice. They don’t feed us and we are left to fend for ourselves, so I shouldn’t be forced either. Cintaa has to consider my side of things and rule in my favour. I have the counter arguments ready to make the association see the reason. If I left the show, then there has to be a strong reason, right?”

Commenting further on the discord, Benaifer draws attention on Shilpa’s behaviour with her co-actors. She says, “She has been attacking co-actors Asif Sheikh, Saumya Tandon and Rohitash Gaud for no reason and even calling them insecure. She claims they are jealous of her popularity and suffer from an inferiority complex because she hogs all the limelight. Why is she dragging everyone in this mess by bad mouthing them and misleading the media with her lies?” She adds, “Before me, she has had a fall out with at least 11 production houses. All the producers have taken her to court. She quits the shows simply because she is greedy for money. She blackmails producers into increasing her remuneration and when they refuse, she throws her weight around and quits. I gave in to her demands twice but decided to put my foot down the third time when she asked me for a raise. All the characters are popular and the show has been running successfully without her. Nobody is indispensable. I hope she understands it before it’s too late.”