Television actress Meera Deosthale has alleged non-payment of dues by the makers of her show, Vidya. In a recent interview, Meera claimed that the producers of Vidya have not paid Rs 3 lakh to her and are not even answering her calls. She mentioned that she has filed a complaint with CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes Association) but is yet to receive full payment. Meanwhile, the producer of her show has also reacted to the allegations. Here’s everything you need to know:
Meera Deosthale: Still Waiting For My Pending Dues
“The show ended in March 2020, and I am still waiting for my pending dues. The production house owes me `3,78,000. The original amount was around `8 lakh and only a portion of it was cleared after I approached CINTAA in July 2022. I had also filed a complaint at Bangur Nagar Police Station in May 2023, but nothing happened. Producer Mahesh Pandey has now stopped responding to my messages and calls. He has also not paid the TDS, which was deducted and has now increased due to the penalty,” Meera said as quoted by ETimes.
Meera further shared that she is the only earning member in her family and due to non-payment of dues, all her savings are also exhausted.
Vidya Producer Reacts To Meera’s ‘Non-Payment’ Claims
Meanwhile, the producer of the show, Mahesh Pandey also reacted to Meera’s allegations. He explained that his show was shut abruptly in 2020. Pandey also claimed that he has already paid Rs 83 lakh to Meera and only Rs 3 lakh is left now. “Why isn’t she mentioning she was paid `83,00,000 including GST against her dues of `86,00,000? If I didn’t intend to clear her dues, I would have withheld `83,00,000 and only paid Rs 3,00,000. My show Vidya shut down abruptly causing me a loss of around four crores, yet I paid her,” Pandey said.
“Last ke teen lakh ke liye inhone association ko involve kar liya where I explained that my production company has been facing continuous losses and I could only pay when money comes in. Some producers try to reach a settlement when their shows abruptly end, but I am not even asking for the amount to be reduced. I have been associated with the industry for many years and have worked with numerous actors, so why is she the only one talking about non-payment of dues? I intend to clear the remaining amount and the TDS, but only after I have done my calculations,” he added.
