Naughty @ 40 courts trouble again

Of the many allegations made against Anuj Sharma, a co-producer, a recent one claimed that he had sold the film to a Mumbai-based film company called Ghajini Media Corporation.

Jagmohan Mundhra’s take on Steven Carrell’s 40 Year Old Virgin went into production three years ago. The film hasn’t seen the light of day yet, but breezed in and out of court several times over. The Govinda-Yuvika Chaudhary-starrer is once again in the news for a legal tangle.

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Naughty @ 40 was expected to release at the end of February this year, which didn’t happen. Anuj Sharma, a co-producer, is working towards an April release.

In 2007, Sandiip Kapur, another co-producer on the film, signed a 20-point agreement with Sharma. Of the many clauses was a joint account between them to carry out all the financial transactions regarding the film. "I paid him about a crore when we signed the agreement. At that time, he kept saying he would open the joint account soon, but he never did," says Kapur, who dragged his co-producer to court for the first time in August-September 2009. "He made all the transactions with Govinda and Jagmohan independently. When I went to London for a schedule, I didn’t even see my name on the clapboard. He has not stuck to many of the points on the agreement."

In February 2010, the film received a stay order. Around the same time, Sharma appealed to the court for a period of six months to complete the film, and gather money to pay Kapur back. “The court gave him nine months but he did nothing,” says Kapur, who claims that he had supervised about 60 per cent of the film shoot till then.

Of the many allegations made against Sharma, a recent one claimed that he had sold the film to a Mumbai-based film company called Ghajini Media Corporation. But, Sharma has a different story to tell. “Ghajini Media has been associated with the film for a long time now. I have not sold any rights to anyone,” says Sharma. “The cheques given to me by Sandiip have bounced several times. As for the joint account, why did Sandiip continue to give me money if he had such an issue? I’ve been in too much trouble. Now, I’m completing the required court formalities and working towards an April release.”