Vivek Sharma. Kay Aujla. Cinetek Rentals Ltd.

A very sorry tale is emerging, of a Bollywood production called “Big Ben” being shot in the UK.

It appears that numerous members of the crew have been left in limbo about their pay and…stop me if you’ve heard this before…the company has stopped reponding to increasingly desperate requests for information from affected freelancers.

The finger of blame is being firmly pointed at accountant Vivek Sharma and Line Producer Kay Aujla who between them have run the gamut of excuses ranging from an apalling outbreak of Covid, deaths in the family to “some horrid people stole our van”.

The company behind this venture is Cinetek Rentals and, as is often the case when pay is an issue, the production has also been marked by a whole host of other nasties including ultra-long shoot days (up to 17 hours), routinely breaking minimum turnarounds, people being sacked without notice, unlawful filming without a UK certified lighting crew, refusal to pay late payment fees and some eye-wateringly hazardous on-set behaviour in terms of basic health and safety.

This crisis-ridden and unsafe production rolls on apparently, the lack of money not stifling the creative juices of those concerned. Payment of invoices is still, however, not top of the list of either of these individuals.

All in all then: Vivek Sharma and Kay Aujla: freelancers beware!