Film producer Vashu Bhagnani’s Pooja Entertainment has been under the scanner for non-payment of fees to its cast and crew, who have worked on three projects, including Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Amid all this, Ravi Kumar, a 45-year-old focus puller who was struggling to make ends meet due to non-payment, has received aid from actor Tiger Shroff. Kumar met with an accident last year, which left him bedridden for eight months. “[After the accident] I’ve been taking up light work. But I’m not getting much work,” he says, adding that his savings were spent paying off medical bills, and he had been promised payment for the unreleased film Mere Husband Ki Biwi, which he worked on in 2022.
When he learnt of Kumar’s predicament, Tiger extended help to the crew member. “My brother, Prasad, had worked on his father (actor) Jackie Shroff’s 1994 film, 1942: A Love Story, where he fractured his hand on the sets. Tab Jackie sir ne mere bhai ka operation karaya tha. Now, his son (Tiger) helped me. I was the focus puller on Heropanti. So he came forward to help me,” says Kumar, who doesn’t wish to disclose the amount, that we have learnt is in lakhs.
Adding how the Shroff family has been looking out for him, Kumar adds, “His mum (Ayesha Shroff) called me on Tuesday. Tiger might not remember that I worked on his debut film. But as a human being, he still came forward to help.”