DEHRADUN: Aarushi Nishank, daughter of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, has accused a Mumbai-based film director of duping her of Rs 4 crore under the pretext of casting her as the lead actress in a Hindi film.
Aarushi Nishank has filed a complaint at the Rajpur police station through her husband, Abhinav Pant, seeking justice for the alleged fraud. In her complaint, she stated, “I work in the film industry through my partnership firm, Himshree Films, focusing on film production and acting.”
According to the FIR, “Mansi Varun Bagla and Varun Pramod Kumar Bagla, residents of Fairy Land, Road 10, Kaifi Azmi Park, J.B. Nagar, Juhu, Mumbai, Maharashtra, contacted Aarushi at her residence in Dehradun and introduced themselves as the director of Mini Films Pvt. Ltd.”
The accused allegedly claimed they were producing a film titled Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyaan, featuring Shanaya Kapoor and Vikrant Massey. “There is also another actress in a significant role; if she takes on this role, it will bring her immense fame and profit in the film industry,” they told Aarushi.
The complaint further states, “We will only offer her this role if she invests Rs 5 crore either through her own firm or via someone she knows. This investment is projected to generate a 20 per cent profit, which would amount to over Rs 5 crore.”
The accused also assured Aarushi, “She will finalize the script for her significant role at her own discretion. If she does not like the role, the Rs 5 crore amount given to Himshree Films Pvt. Ltd. will be returned with an annual interest of 15 per cent.”
Under these promises, Aarushi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Mini Films Pvt. Ltd. and Himshree Films on December 9, 2024. “Under the influence of temptation, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Mini Films Pvt. Ltd. and Himshree Films on December 9, 2024, which led to my being defrauded of Rs 2 crore on October 10, 2024,” she stated in her complaint.
Shortly after, she was pressured into giving another Rs 1 crore on October 19, 2024, and an additional Rs 1 crore between October 27 and 30, 2024.
She further alleged, “The accused had assured me that they would promote me through their official pages and Instagram. When producers Mansi Varun Bagla and Varun Pramod Kumar Bagla initially deceived me into giving them Rs 2 crore as the first instalment, they promised that after the promotion and script finalization, they would take the remaining Rs 2 crore as the second instalment.”
However, she claims that neither the promised promotion took place nor was her role or script finalized, resulting in a total financial loss of Rs 4 crore. The police have registered a case, and an investigation is currently underway.
