MUMBAI: The Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan starrer Nehlle Pe Dehlla has run into trouble once again.

The film’s producer Mahendra Dhariwal has been booked under section 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, for not repaying a sum of Rs 30 million (Rs three crore) to film financer Samdarshi Jaiswal.

Sources say Jaiswal had financed Rs 4.5 million (Rs 45 lakhs) for Dhariwal’s Dada, starring Mithoon Chakraborty in 1997. A deal was signed between the two for payback of the amount with 2.5 per cent interest and a share in the profits of Dada.

Speaking exclusively to Businessofcinema.com, Jaiswal says, “Dhariwal failed to pay the amount that accumulated to Rs 11 million (Rs 1.1 crore) in 2002. So before the release of his film Maa Tujhhe Salaam in 2002, he signed an agreement with me stating that he will not release Nehlle Pe Dehlla and Jail, directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, unless he clears my dues.”

According to Jaiswal, the amount touched Rs 30 million (Rs three crore) in 2006, and Dhariwal failed to clear his dues. Jaiswal adds that Dhariwal had issued a cheque, which later bounced.

A Chandigarh court has now asked Dhariwal to stall the release of his film on 2 March 2007. Adlabs’ Manmohan Shetty is currently acting as the trustee of the film, and the court has also asked him not to release any prints to the distributors.

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