Payal Rajput alleges Rakshana producer threatened to ban her from Tollywood; TFPC hits back

The issue between actor Payal Rajput, the producer of Rakshana and TFPC escalated on Monday after she released a note on social media.

Actor Payal Rajput is locked in a tussle with the producers of one of her films, Rakshana, with matters escalating on Monday. Payal took to X (formerly Twitter) to allege that the producers threatened to ban her from Tollywood if she didn’t promote the film. They, in return, revealed that they’ve lodged a complaint against her with the Telugu Film Producers Council (TFPC). (Also Read: Srikanth, Hema deny involvement in high-profile rave party drug bust in Bengaluru)

Payal Rajput finds herself in trouble after she allegedly failed to turn up for film promotions.

‘They threaten to ban me’

Payal took to X and Instagram on Sunday evening to share a note detailing her side of the story. She wrote, “I have a film, Rakshana, shot in 2019 and 2020 originally named 5Ws. The release was delayed and now they’re trying to benefit from my recent success without clearing dues and demanding promotion presence. My team communicates my unavailability due to prior commitments, but they threaten to ban me from Telugu cinema.”

She also claimed that in recent meetings, they used ‘inappropriate language’ and that her and her team are considering legal action now. Payal stated that they’re now releasing the film without her consent.

‘Ready to pay balance if…’

The TFPC released a press note on Monday stating that the producers had filed a complaint against the actor with the council in March. They wrote that they received a complaint from producer and director Prandeep Thakore regarding Payal not allocating dates to promote the film. He had planned to release the film in April but she refused claiming it was a four year old film and asked them to release the film on OTT. They also claimed that the producers were willing to pay the ₹6 lakh due, provided she came to the promotions, which she failed to.

The press note also claims that complaints were filed with Movie Artistes Association, Film Federation of India and IMMPA, Mumbai. TFPC claimed that they put in all efforts to reach out to Payal through her manager, condemning her statement. They also stated that Prandeep has all rights to use her name during promotions as she acted in the film.