‘Gave ₹4 crore to film producer, was duped’: Ex-CM Ramesh Pokhriyal’s daughter

The FIR was registered against Varun Pramod Kumar Bagla and his wife Mansi Bagla, who own Mini Films, for extortion, cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

Dehradun: Former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s daughter Arushi Nishank on Friday accused a Mumbai-based film producer couple of cheating her of ₹4 crore, saying the couple got her to invest ₹4 crore on the promise of a 20% returns and failed to deliver on their promise to give her a role in their movie.

Arushi Nishank, daughter of former CM Nishank, who also owns production house Himshrri Films (arushi.nishank/Instagram)

Kotwali station house officer Chandrabhan Singh said a first information report (FIR) has been registered on Arushi’s complaint. “Our investigation into the matter is underway,” he said.

The FIR was registered against Varun Pramod Kumar Bagla and his wife Mansi Bagla, who own Mini Films, for extortion, cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Kotwali police station on Friday evening.

Arushi, who also owns production house Himshrri Films, said the couple came to her Dehradun house and offered her a role in the movie ‘Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan’ to be produced under Mini Films, featuring Vikrant Massey and Shanaya Kapoor.

“They asked me to invest ₹5 crore through my firm, promising 20% profit, which is around ₹15 crore. They also said I could finalise my own role’s script. I was assured that if I wasn’t satisfied with my role, my investment would be returned with 15% annual interest. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Himshrri Films and Mini Films on October 9, 2024, and took ₹2 crore. They then took ₹25 lakh on October 27, ₹75 lakh on October 30, and ₹1 crore on November 19, totaling ₹4 crore. Despite promises to let me finalise my script and promote me on social media, neither was fulfilled,” she said.

She further said, “On February 2,2025, I received a message that the shooting for the film was completed in India and the rest will be shot in Europe. And some other actress has been selected in my place.”

The producers allegedly threatened to kill and defame her and her family, she alleged.