Actor-producer-businessman Ananta Jalil has refuted the complaints of Iranian filmmaker Morteza Atashzamzam about the film "Din: The Day”s actual budget.
He made the response in a video message posted on his verified Facebook page on Saturday.
According to the film contract, Ananta was supposed to pay all the expenses for shooting of the film in Bangladesh.
Claiming to have paid all the expenses according to the contract, Ananta said: “It is not a concern of Morteza whether it cost Tk1 crore or Tk4 crore for shooting here (Bangladesh).”
He said the shooting of the film started in 2019 and completed by 2020.
“You can watch my interviews on television, in newspapers and on social media before and after the release of the film. Did I say that I am the only investor of this movie? I have always said that I am the investor for shooting only in Bangladesh,” the actor said.
On February 27 last year, Morteza attended a programme of the film “Din: The Day” and “Netri: The Leader” at a Dhaka hotel where he told Ananta that he had spent much more money on shooting than the budget he fixed.
“I announced the budget amount as Morteza said in all my interviews,” Ananta claimed.
He added: "I am not supposed to pay any shooting expenses abroad except the expenses in Bangladesh, our travelling cost and the air ticket. So, how can he say that I did not pay him the required amount as per the contract?”
He continued: “Then Morteza did not spend any money on shooting in so many countries either."
Anata also said the Dolby certificate is not required for film release in Iran as their post-production is already quite advanced.
“Until the release of the movie, Morteza and I never had a bad relationship. I hope we never have one in the future. I believe that one day Murtaza will unmask those on whose interests he has made the false allegations,” the actor said.
Morteza recently accused Ananta Jalil of violating the conditions of the film's agreement through a post on his Instagram profile.
As promised during his initial criticism of Ananta Jalil, the filmmaker has now come forward with the social media post to "reveal" the budget of "Din - The Day," which is $500,000.
This comes to about Tk4 crore when converted in BDT, which is nowhere near the Tk100 crore budget earlier claimed by Ananta Jalil throughout the promotional activities of the film.
According to the Iranian filmmaker, Ananta was required to invest the entire amount for the movie in accordance with the previously signed contract between the parties. As a result, Ananta would receive 85% of the movie's earnings as an investor while Morteza would gain 15% as the producer.
Following that, Ananta reportedly compensated him with only $24,000 instead of the promised $200,000.
According to the Iranian director, Ananta would always cite the Covid-19 pandemic and "business loss" as his excuses whenever Morteza requested further payments.
The filmmaker, showcasing all the documents, asked in the post: "How can Ananta make the claim that the budget of the film is around $10 million when he didn't even pay the contractually obligated amount of $500,000, as per our 2018 contract, to our Iranian team?"
