The makers of 83, the upcoming Hindi sports drama starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, are facing a criminal complaint for alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy and breach of contract, Bar and Bench reported.
Future Resources FZE, a UAE-based financier company, has moved the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Mumbai seeking judicial inquiry against the film’s makers, Vibri Media.
The complaint also names the producers of the film, including Padukone, Phantom Films, filmmakers Sajid Nadiadwala, Kabir Khan, and others, for allegedly committing offences under Sections 405, 406 (criminal breach of trust), 415, 418, 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the complaint, representatives from FZE had met with the Hyderabad-based Vibri Media looking for big investments. The latter then “fraudulently made bogus, exaggerated claims” and submitted false profit-and-loss reports to get FZE to invest approximately Rs 16 crore with Vibri Media.
Further, FZE mentioned that it became a shareholder after executing two agreements, the Securities Subscription Agreement (SSA) and the Shareholders Agreement (SHA) with Vibri Media based on its representations and warranties.
Though obligated to inform FZE about any third party transaction as per the agreement and take the UAE-based company’s consent before executing any agreement, Vibri Media entered into multiple agreements with Reliance Big Films, Phantom Films, Khan, Nadiadwala and Padukone for the production of 83 without the positive written consent of FZE, the complaint claimed.
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The complaint also added that the director of Vibri Media, Vishnu Indhuri, was made the producer of the film in his personal capacity despite the company being bound to use FZE’s money for business purposes only and not for the personal use of its directors.
Accusing Vibri Media of “engineering a plan to jointly and severally cheat and delude FZE since the very inception” by not intimating FZE regarding board meetings related to 83 and its relevant documents, FZE had sent a legal notice to Vibri Media seeking an explanation for the same. The UAE company has now moved the Mumbai court as well.