25 TV actors scammed by energy drink company, Arjun Bijlani says he was promised Rs 40 lakh but bowed out of the deal: ‘I found it a little fishy’

Almost 100 celebrities were brought together to attend the brand’s promotional event in Mumbai. After the payments were dishonored and no money was credited, Roshan had no option but to approach the police. As per reports, police have already booked five people in the case.

Also Read: Arjun Bijlani reveals losing Rs 40000 in a cyber fraud incident: ‘Going digital is great but this is very scary’

Arjun Bijlani was asked to shoot without payment

Explaining what happened, Arjun Bijlani exclusively told SCREEN, “Roshan Garry told me there was a campaign and approached me for some 3-4 collab reels, I said okay. She is from the industry, everybody knows her, so we tend to trust her. But then once the script and everything were decided… usually I always take an advance payment either 50 percent or full because of these very same incidents. They agreed, but when the time came, they asked for another day, then they told me to shoot first. They said I could trust them, but it was the question of something that was agreed on.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Arjun Bijlani ⚫️ (@arjunbijlani) 

Arjun Bijlani was told the brand was ‘connected to’ cricketer Surya Kumar Yadav

Arjun also revealed how he was told that cricketer Surya Kumar Yadav was also involved with the brand. “There was some kind of mention of Surya Kumar Yadav, so I asked them if I should speak to Surya Kumar Yadav and they said it wasn’t needed. I found it a little fishy and because I didn’t get my payment, I cancelled it. I was told that some people had already done it, like my friend Ankita (Lokhande), so obviously you tend to think that if everyone has done it, it is more or less genuine. But I work on certain principles, and since they didn’t honour their commitment, I didn’t shoot for it,” Arjun Bijlani shared.

Arjun Bijlani was promised Rs 40 lakhs

As per the deal promised, Arjun was supposed to be paid Rs 40 lakhs for 4-5 reel collabs. The actor shared, “I was quoted 8 lakhs per reel, so the deal was a total of Rs 40 lakhs for 4-5 reels. I was told that once I did the first one, they would go ahead with the other four. So I asked them to pay me a certain amount, and when it didn’t happen, I said that I might as well not do it.”

While Arjun feels lucky to have not fallen for this scheme, he reveals such deals are usually quite messy. He said, “It is better you don’t shoot, rather than shoot and not get paid. If brands are serious and they want to do this, they should pay a 50 percent advance. Why wait for 30 days or 50 days? Also, agencies involved in the deals also create a lot of issues. They quote you some other price, and they end up taking some other price. I think there should be tri-party emails and confirmations so there is no cheating involved. They can take whatever the agency fee is.”

Police is investigating the matter. SCREEN reached out to Tejasswi Prakash and Ankita Lokhande who refused comment.