Rakul Preet says husband Jackky Bhagnani faced ‘huge financial loss’ after Akshay Kumar’s Rs 400 cr film tanked

To make matters worse, the heavy financial losses were said to have forced the Bhagnanis to mortgage multiple properties. The situation was compounded by the fact that all three of Pooja Entertainment’s post-pandemic releases — Mission Raniganj, Ganapath, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan — failed at the box office, leaving the company in a difficult position both operationally and financially.

As financial stress mounted, reports claimed that the Bhagnanis had laid off nearly 80% of their staff and were compelled to sell their seven-storey Mumbai office building to manage an estimated debt of roughly Rs 250 crore. Vashu Bhagnani later denied rumours of bankruptcy, clarifying that the office building was being redeveloped, not sold.

Rakul Preet Singh breaks silence on the controversy

Rakul Preet Singh — who had been in a long-term relationship with Jackky before their marriage last year — has now opened up about that turbulent period, insisting that much of what was reported was inaccurate.

Speaking about supporting Jackky through the crisis, Rakul told Humans of Bombay: “You are also part of the business, so you know that today we are in a clickbait culture. You know the reality and what is actually happening, and I have seen that entire phase, so it doesn’t matter. Tomorrow somebody can write something about me and it doesn’t matter because he knows me. Being part of the industry, you have to cut out the noise. You cannot get affected by what people say, because people won’t say the right thing most of the time — we are in a culture where sensational news runs. We have to be honest with one another and shut the noise.”

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Reflecting on that period, she added: “It was a very challenging time for the family and for him. But a lot of things said in the news weren’t even correct. No company is shut. I didn’t even know because I don’t read. I was unbothered because I knew things first-hand. Yes, it’s a fact that two to three films didn’t work, and it was a huge blow that brought a lot of financial loss — but that happens with every producer. It even happened to Amitabh Bachchan at one point. This is all a phase.”

She went on to reflect on perspective and resilience: “Any situation in life has two ways of looking at it. I can either register all the wrong things happening or be grateful that I have a roof over my head and a healthy body. I can either say, ‘My film didn’t do Rs 500 crore but someone else’s did,’ or I can be grateful that I have a film, I am working, and people are liking my work.”

Jackky Bhagnani earlier reacted to the crisis

Previously, in an interview with SCREEN, Jackky Bhagnani spoke candidly about the financial turmoil: “I would like to say that the returns are not even less than 50%. I don’t think anyone can understand what our pain was. As a family, we have mortgaged our properties to make this film. We realised that there is no point in saying or explaining anything,” he said about the situation after Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.

Without naming Ali Abbas Zafar, he added: “We invested with faith, hoping a good piece of content would be made and the audience would like it. The honest truth is — all of this is noise. If the film had done well, no controversy would have happened. It is not my nature to take sides, but all I would like to say is that it was a tough time, and it is very important that we all be conscious of each other’s money.”