Producer Vashu Bhagnani hospitalised a day after IT raids on him, Rakul Preet Singh - The Indian Express
Film producer Vashu Bhagnani has reportedly been hospitalised in London. According to ANI, the reason for his hospitalisation has not been disclosed. When the news agency attempted to contact the family, they reportedly asked to be left “alone.” The news of his hospitalisation comes a day after reports surfaced that the Mumbai Income Tax Department had conducted searches at 12 locations linked to Bhagnani, his daughter-in-law Rakul Preet Singh and Panorama Studios over suspected fund irregularities.
According to an NDTV report, investigators believe that funds were allegedly being routed abroad under the guise of financing film projects. The investigation is ongoing, with officials examining financial records and details of the alleged overseas transactions.
Vashu Bhagnani is the founder of Pooja Entertainment, the production banner behind several popular films, including Coolie No. 1, Hero No. 1, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Biwi No. 1, among others.
However, the production house has faced a series of setbacks in recent years, with several of its films underperforming at the box office. These include the Coolie No 1 remake starring Varun Dhawan, Mission Raniganj and the 2024 remake of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Its latest release was Mere Husband Ki Biwi, which starred Bhagnani’s daughter-in-law Rakul Preet Singh and was released in 2025.
Following the release of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, which was reportedly made on a massive budget of over Rs 400 crore, the Bhagnani family was involved in a public dispute with filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar. Vashu Bhagnani had accused Zafar of misusing funds and alleged that he was involved in criminal conspiracy, forgery and misappropriation of subsidy funds provided by Abu Dhabi authorities during the film’s shoot.
Around the same time, several crew members accused Pooja Entertainment of withholding their dues and unpaid remuneration. Zafar also approached the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) over allegedly pending fees of Rs 7.3 crore.
Previously, speaking to SCREEN, Jackky Bhagnani recalled the difficult period following the Bade Miyan Chote Miyan debacle.
“For me, it has been a huge learning. We invested a lot of money and I realised that just scale is not good enough. Somewhere, we felt that the content that was made didn’t resonate with the audience at all.” He added, “I would like to say that the returns are not even less than 50%. I don’t think anyone can understand what our pain was. As a family, we have mortgaged our properties to make this film. We realise that there is no point in saying anything or speaking anything.”
He concluded, “We invested with faith hoping a good piece of content is made and the audience will like it. The honest truth is all of this is noise, if the film did well, no controversy would have happened. It is not my nature to take sides but all I would like to say is it was tough times and it is very important that we should all be very conscious of each other’s money.”
