Amol Palekar on his legal battle with BR Chopra over unpaid dues:’He threatened to get me thrown out of the industry’ | Hindi Movie News

Actor-filmmaker Amol Palekar recently spoke about his legal battle with renowned producer BR Chopra. Palekar revealed that he took legal action after being denied payment and facing threats and intimidation. Despite being advised against it, he stood his ground and eventually won the case. In an interview with The Lallantop, he shared how he confronted Chopra, firmly stating that he would not tolerate any form of threats.
Amol explained that the dispute began during the production of the film ‘Agni Pareeksha‘, which he worked on alongside Parikshit Sahni and Rameshwari. He shared that the shoot faced multiple delays due to accidents, Rameshwari injured her eye on another set, and Parikshit hurt his back after falling off a horse. Despite these challenges, the team managed to finish the film.
The actor felt his remuneration was overdue, he revealed that it was typical in the industry to complete all payments after the final dubbing and he was okay with the process and waited to be paid till afterwards.
He further explained that, “The money didn’t come. I was told to talk to Mr Chopra. I told him that I hadn’t caused him any delays; in fact, I had even completed my dubbing. If he wasn’t able to pay me, I suggested that he should give me a lab letter stating that the film wouldn’t be released until all my dues are cleared. He was a big man, and he didn’t like what I said. He felt insulted. He said, ‘How dare you ask me for a lab letter?’”
Palekar concluded, “He threatened to get me thrown out of the industry. I told him, ‘Mr Chopra, I’ve come here and made a name for myself without the help of crutches. How can you throw me out of the industry? Is it your back garden? Let me see you try’. And that’s when I filed a complaint against him. He was directed to deposit the money with the court.”
Amol shared that years later, he received five times the amount he was originally owed. While many had advised him against taking on BR Chopra, Palekar stated that he wouldn’t have pursued the matter if Chopra had been respectful. However, the threats crossed a line, and Palekar never tolerated.
BR Chopra was the elder brother of Yash Chopra, who later founded the iconic Yash Raj Films production house. BR Chopra himself ran BR Films, which produced several notable films such as ‘Naya Daur’, ‘Waqt’, and ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’.