Archive · 1 Feb 2026
Producer Accuses Amitabh Bachchan and Shoojit Sircar of Film Rights Dispute
A producer named Shailendra Singh says he paid Amitabh Bachchan a lot of money to act in a movie he was making.
But then, he claims, the director Shoojit Sircar and Amitabh Bachchan took over the movie and made it with a different company.
Shailendra is upset because he says they didn't give him credit or let him finish the movie.
He even filed a lawsuit, but the movie was never released.
Meanwhile, Shoojit and Amitabh Bachchan went on to work together on other successful films.
Shailendra also talked about another time he almost made a famous movie called Devdas but decided not to after getting advice from another director.
Producer Shailendra Singh claims he paid Amitabh Bachchan Rs 4 crore for a film titled Johnny Walker, which was later renamed Shoebite.
Shailendra accuses director Shoojit Sircar of taking over the project and making it under a different banner with UTV Group.
Despite paying the advance, Shailendra says he lost the rights to the film and it was never released.
Legal cases were filed, but the dispute remains unresolved.
Shailendra also recalled almost producing Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas but walked away after advice from David Dhawan.
- Who
- Producer Shailendra Singh, Actor Amitabh Bachchan, Director Shoojit Sircar
- What
- Dispute over film rights and payment for a film that never materialized
- When
- Details span from the initial project development to ongoing legal case
- Where
- Primarily in Bollywood, India
- Why
- Shailendra claims Shoojit and Amitabh Bachchan took over his project and made it under a different banner
- Producer
- Shailendra Singh
- Actor
- Amitabh Bachchan
- Director
- Shoojit Sircar
- Film Title
- Johnny Walker (later Shoebite)
- Advance Payment
- Rs 4 crore
- Production House
- UTV Group (Ronnie Screwvala)
- Legal Status
- Case still ongoing
- Film Release Status
- Never released
