MUMBAI: Meera Deosthale had no idea that she would have to wait an eternity for her debts to be paid when she began filming the TV series Vidya in 2019. The actress has been after this for months, calling CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes Association) and even filed a police complaint against producer Mahesh Pandey, but she hasn't received her full salary yet.

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Meera revealed, “The show ended in March 2020, and I am still waiting for my pending dues. The production house owes me `3,78,000. The original amount was around `8 lakh and only a portion of it was cleared after I approached CINTAA in July 2022. I had also filed a complaint at Bangur Nagar Police Station in May 2023, but nothing happened. Producer Mahesh Pandey has now stopped responding to my messages and calls. He has also not paid the TDS, which was deducted and has now increased due to the penalty.”

Speaking of her financial struggles, she said, “While the amount may not seem significant to some, as the sole breadwinner in my family, every penny counts. Why should I have to beg for my own hard-earned money? There is usually a gap between shows for any artiste. So, during that time, I exhausted my savings.”

Mahesh Pandey, writer-producer of Vidya said, “Why isn’t she mentioning she was paid `83,00,000 including GST against her dues of `86,00,000? If I didn’t intend to clear her dues, I would have withheld `83,00,000 and only paid `3,00,000. My show Vidya shut down abruptly causing me a loss of around four crores, yet I paid her. Last ke teen lakh ke liye inhone association ko involve kar liya where I explained that my production company has been facing continuous losses and I could only pay when money comes in. Some producers try to reach a settlement when their shows abruptly end, but I am not even asking for the amount to be reduced. I have been associated with the industry for many years and have worked with numerous actors, so why is she the only one talking about non-payment of dues? I intend to clear the remaining amount and the TDS, but only after I have done my calculations.”

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credit-TOI