Agents of Pak artistes accused of demanding payment in black

November 16, 2016

New Delhi, Nov 16: Agents of Pakistani artistes like Fawad Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafaqat Amanat Ali, Mawra Hocane and Imran Abbas Naqvi are involved in black moneytransactions in India, a sting by Hindi news channel News18 India has alleged.

fawadThe news channel's sting report comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to curb black money in India.

The sting operation, carried out by News18 India over a fortnight ago in New Delhi and Mumbai, was aired on Tuesday night.

According to a statement issued by the channel, undercover reporters caught on camera the "agents of the Pakistani artistes" demanding majority of their fee in black. The fee was for appearance in wedding ceremonies.

While a few demanded part of the fee in cash, others wanted it transferred to their bank accounts in Australia or Dubai, the statement alleged.

The formal contract, however, reflected a paltry sum as compared to the amount agreed upon, the News18 India statement read.

As per the sting, Fawad's manager demanded Rs 50 lakh for a two-hour appearance. He demanded that the payment should be made in black and white. The black money component was to be 25 per cent of the deal amount and the rest was to be transferred to the actor`s UAE-based bank account, the statement alleged.

Singers Shafqat Amanat Ali's manager and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's representative demanded Rs 35 lakh and Rs 65 lakh respectively. Whereas, the former's contract showed just Rs 8 lakh, the latter's showed Rs 23 lakh, including taxes, News18 India said.

Actor Imran's manager demanded Rs 35 lakh for a performance, with Rs 32 lakh to be paid in black while the contract was to reflect a fee of just Rs 300,000.

Mawra's Pakistan-based manager demanded Rs 50 lakh for a two-hour appearance and asked for Rs 25 lakh in cash to be paid to her contact in Mumbai. The rest was to be transferred to her Australian bank account, the channel statement said.

News18 India said that since all the Pakistani artistes come to India on a work permit obtained through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for professional engagement, these activities violate statutory laws.

The insistence for payment in black money also violates Service Tax and Income Tax laws.

The details of the sting operation could not be independently verified.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 25,2020

Mumbai, Apr 25: Actor Vidya Balan has decided to donate 1000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to the frontline healthcare staff across India.

In a video message posted on her Facebook page, the actor announced that she is also collaborating with celebrity shout-out platform Tring to raise money for additional 1000 PPE kits.

“In the war against COVID-19 our health care professionals are like our soldiers at the border fighting for our health and freedom. Just like we equip our soldiers for the battle we must do the same with our medical staff. There is a critical shortage of PPE for our senior doctors, residents, nurses and ward boys in their daily work.

“As a result, a lot of our hospitals are not functioning at full capacity. Join me in changing this now. I am donating 1000 PPE ktis to hospital and medical staff across the country. And I am pledging to raise money for another 1000,” she said.

According to a statement issued by the actor’s team, she has joined hands with Tring to provide additional 1000 PPE kits, in association with Manish Mundra of Drishyam Films and photographer-producer Atul Kasbekar.

For donations made through Tring, Vidya will be recognising the support of every donor by sending a personal thank you video message, and a chance for a two-minute video call with her.

Vidya said each PPE kit is worth Rs 650 (all-inclusive of delivery costs and applicable taxes) and it consists of one coverall laminated and waterproof, nitrile gloves, goggles, face shields, 3-ply surgical mask and shoe covers.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 30,2020

California, May 30: Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Saturday shared a gorgeous sunkissed selfie sporting cherry lips and beaded dangler earrings.

The multi-talented star who owns a production house put out a morning selfie on Instagram wherein she is seen sporting a white collared top, flaunting her cherry red lips and dangler earrings as she embraces her peach glow in the sheer sunlight, while her shiny curls bounce the sunshine.

Along with the picture, the 'The Sky Is Pink' actor wrote, "A cherry lip and sunshine...maybe even a earring...I'm feeling adventurous."

On sharing the gorgeous selfie, the Chopra received heaps of praises from fans and celebrity followers, and the post reached more than 1.9 lakh likes including one for Sussanne Khan.

Model Masaba Gupta also chimed in the comment section and adored the beauty of the 'Baywatch' star writing, "Stunning" with a heart emoticon.

Currently, the actor is quarantined in her California house along with singer and husband Nick Jonas and has been quite active on social media.

Earlier, Priyanka recalled her parents' service in the Indian Army as America observed Memorial Day, and the 37-year-old actor dug out an old picture of her parents in uniform and posted it on Instagram.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 11,2020

Mar 11: The shooting of Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai has been completed, and the film will now release on schedule.

If one recalls, the film went on the floors in the first week of November 2019 and was supposed to be Salman’s fastest completed film. However, the movie faced a variety of roadblocks — It was first to be wrapped in the first week of February, “But Salman went off to his Panvel farmhouse after the release of Dabangg 3 and spent a while there ushering in his birthday,” a source reveals.

“Then, the extension of the show Bigg Boss 13 by five weeks also turned out to be another speed breaker. Then, Salman wanted to make sure that the film was being made as good as what his audiences wanted on Eid. He made sure that his director Prabhudeva got what he wanted from the performers and didn’t want to rush him.

"Additionally, the Azerbaijan schedule of the film also got cancelled as Salman did not want to take any chances with the cast and crew with the lurking Covid 19, and rescheduled the shoot in India. This is now complete, barring any patchwork that might emerge later,” our source adds.

Radhe is slated to be an Eid release, which will clash with Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.