Kartik Aaryan’s Naagzilla: Court denies bail to 3 in Rs 39.2m fund case

Dubai: A Mumbai sessions court has rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of three film production executives accused of allegedly misappropriating Rs 39.2 million allocated for the making of Kartik Aaryan-starrer Naagzilla, produced by Dharma Productions and Mahaveer Jain Films.

Additional Sessions Judge M Mohiuddin, sitting at the Dindoshi court, observed on Wednesday that prima facie material indicated the accused's involvement in the alleged offense. The court also said custodial interrogation was necessary for a detailed investigation, according to PTI.

The accused are Kuldeep Singh Champawat, 47, a consultant and signing authority; Mahipal Karan Rathore, 42, a service provider and executive producer; and Shivkumar Tiwari, 45, a line producer.

The case follows a complaint by Tukaram Mahadev Sawant, an accountant with Mahaveer Jain Films Pvt Ltd, led by Mahaveer Jain and his wife, Neetu Jain.

Mahaveer Jain Films entered into an agreement with Dharma Productions Pvt Ltd on October 30 last year to produce Naagzilla with a total budget of Rs 825 million.

According to the complaint, Champawat approached Mahaveer Jain to oversee the film's production and recommended his relative Rathore, who was subsequently appointed as a service provider. Tiwari was engaged as line producer to coordinate vendors supplying vehicles, makeup services and junior artistes.

The prosecution alleged that the three executives colluded to bypass the company's standard operating procedures and incurred unaccounted expenditure of Rs 39,276,308 without submitting the required bills and vouchers.

The complaint further alleged that a vendor's bill was inflated from Rs 85,000 to Rs 130,000. It also claimed that the accused paid Rs 45,000 to a firm named ANM Global despite it allegedly providing no services to the film.

The accused were also alleged to have cleared more than Rs 150,000 in fabricated bills prepared in coordination with a production assistant.

The investigating officer told the court that the accused allegedly collected commissions and mobile phones from vendors in exchange for awarding contracts and clearing bills.

Directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and written by Gautam Mehra, Naagzilla features Kartik Aaryan as an ichchadhari naag, or shapeshifting serpent.

Karan Johar, Mahaveer Jain, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, Mrighdeep Singh Lamba, and Neetu M Jain produced the film under the banners of Dharma Productions and Mahaveer Jain Films. Marijke deSouza and Divyansh Jain are the co-producers.

Naagzilla is scheduled to release in cinemas in 2027.