Firoze Nadiadwala has threatened to bump me off: Raj Kumar Santoshi

The very talented and prolific director Raj Kumar Santoshi is at the moment extremely perturbed by alleged death threats from producer Firoze Nadiadwala. Sounding utterly hassled Santoshi said, “I should have never agreed to direct a film for him. The proposed project Power took away almost three years of my life. During this time I signed no other films. People began to wonder if I had stopped getting work. But a commitment is a commitment. And I was ready to make the film for Firoze. But what was I supposed to do if he couldn’t get the project going even after so much time had passed?” Santoshi says he had been warned by the entire film industry against working with Nadiadwala. “Every director from Mahesh Bhatt to Priyadarshan has had a problem with him. Anyone I’d speak to would warn me against working with him. But I didn’t listen to anyone. Now I am paying for not listening.” Santoshi alleges that he has been seriously threatened by Nadiadwala. “He has even threatened to bump me off. There have been all kinds of threats which I can’t talk about since the matter is sub-judice. I had to go to court to protect my family and myself from any harm.” Santoshi disputes the amount that Nadiadwala claims he’s owed by the director. Protests Santoshi, “He claims I owe him Rs 16 crores. How did he come to this figure? What is the basic for his calculation? To me it sounds like extortion.” Santoshi says he was willing to sit and sort it out with Nadiadwala. “I suggested we sit together with some influential and trustworthy members of the film fraternity. Lekin woh kisiki nahin suntan (he doesn’t listen to anyone).”