Rs 38,000. That's what assistant director Prashamit Chaudhury alleged he was beaten up for, by music composer Ismail Darbar, his son Zayed and a few other "associates" who he says attacked him following an argument about unpaid dues.
Chaudhury told dna he was part of Darbar's production house from July 2014 to September 2014, and according to contract, was told he'd be paid a monthly salary. Two months passed, the first schedule ended and the composer Darbar, who debuts as a film director with this project, was told by Chaudhury that he wanted a break. The AD asked for some money to cover his medical expenses and was told he'd be paid later. Taking him at his word, Chaudhury left for home for three months to recover from his illness. In the meantime, he kept sending his employer messages and calling him up but without any reply forthcoming.
By then, says Chaudhury, it became clear that it would be better if he met Darbar face to face. He went to the director's office at around 3 o'clock on Monday. Darbar was busy in a meeting. "We had come without an appointment and he made us wait. So we waited till 9pm or so. But he stealthily slipped away that day. He didn't take my calls, so we asked our colleagues to call him. He promised to pay me after the shoot. By then, I thought he's delayed again. Maybe he had no intention of paying me. I reached home. I tried calling him from different phones. I was forceful and firm and told him we're not begging, but asking you for our labour's worth. Just give us our due. Tempers flared on both sides and it came to the point that he threatened me saying, 'Tell me where you are, I'll come there and bash you up.' I didn't take it seriously and thought he was just saying it for effect. I said, 'Take it down' without realising he'd hold good to his threat."
Thereafter, says Chaudhury, "Ismail's son Zaid called his roommate Mudassir and said he had no idea what had happened between his father and me but 'let me come down there and we'll discuss it'. My roommate gave the address and he told me to come down and said, 'let's talk about this peacefully.' We have four parking lots in my complex (Evershine Cosmic, Oshiwara) and I went down to P4. While there, he said, 'let's go down to P1'. I didn't suspect anything. We went down there and all of a sudden, they started attacking me from behind. Ismail Darbar came out of nowhere, he was standing behind a pillar while we were in P1. He came out and started bashing me up. Other people came and started hitting me with hockey sticks and other objects. I was dazed and could not comprehend what was happening. Mudassir quickly went down and called the security guards, his parents who were staying there for a few days came along with other roommates. By then there was a crowd. I was already lying on the floor, bleeding and my attackers left saying they'd 'see me next time' and left because there were too many people there."
Prashamit, in his battered state then headed to Amboli Police Station to file a complaint. He says he was asked by the officers on duty to go to Cooper Hospital in Juhu for a "proper checkup" so they could "assess the damage accordingly".
"I was in pain", he says, "I had four stitches on my eye. I still have no idea if my nose is broken or not. I've not even gone in for a proper X-ray yet. We submitted the report late at night. I gave the police a full description and they arrested Zaid Darbar and his associates on Tuesday. I am asking people to share my story."
Though the FIR was filed against the four under IPC Sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), among others, the trio was later reportedly released on bail. The complainant also says that even 24 hours later, he has still not received a copy of the FIR filed, despite repeated requests.
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