‘Munnabhai 3’ Put on Hold Till Rajkumar Hirani Given Clean Chit?

What will be the fate of all the films that Rajkumar Hirani has been involved in, following #MeToo allegations?

Director Rajkumar Hirani. 

(Photo: IANS)

In the wake of #MeToo allegations against Rajkumar Hirani, the fate of his ongoing projects has come into question. Even before Hirani was accused of sexual harassment by an employee during the post-production work of Sanju on 13 January, his name was dropped from the trailer credits, as well as the new posters, as a co-producer.

According to a report in Mid-day, Vinod Chopra Films and Fox Star India took swift action as soon as the survivor shared her ordeal via an email in November. As per the report, Fox Star India, which is bound by a three-film deal with VVC Films (Vinod Chopra films), has conveyed to the latter it will dissociate itself if the allegations against Hirani are found to be true.

Munna Bhai 3, which is currently in the pre-production stage, would then have to be put on hold.

A source from Star India reveals,

“In a meeting in late December, it was decided that Fox would pull the plug on Munna Bhai 3 if Hirani was found guilty. The studio stands in solidarity with the survivor. VVC Films too has taken the matter seriously, and dropped Hirani’s name from the promotional material of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.”

While Star India was expected to look into the allegations, the alleged incident extended beyond Sanju’s release and hence, will be investigated by VVC Films.

"An ICC set up by VVC Films will investigate the matter. Munna Bhai 3, however, by default, is on hold till Hirani gets a clean chit," said the source to Mid-day.

But Anupama Chopra, in her statement to HuffPost India, said that the committee would need to be set up by Rajkumar Hirani Films (RHF), because the survivor is an employee of that company.

“We also offered to set up an ICC at VCF (which we have set up since then) even though a VCF ICC could not have taken up the case since she was an RHF (Rajkumar Hirani Films) employee at the time. These are two separate companies,” said Anupama to HuffPost India.

(Source: Mid-day)