Producer Vashu Bhagnani has reignited a long-running Bollywood feud by claiming that he paid David Dhawan nearly Rs 70 crore for Coolie No. 1 and still suffered a loss of around Rs 27 crore on the 2020 remake. The remarks, made during a recent press interaction amid a separate legal fight over Chunnari Chunnari rights, have reopened debate over star fees, production control, and who bears responsibility when a big-ticket film underperforms.
A Bombshell From Dubai
Veteran Bollywood producer Vashu Bhagnani has never been one to hold back — but his virtual press conference from Dubai on May 22, 2026 may rank among the most candid, and combative, moments in his decades-long career. Speaking to select media members, Bhagnani went on record with claims that cut deep into one of Bollywood's most celebrated director-producer relationships: his history with David Dhawan.
The trigger? An escalating legal battle over the classic track Chunari Chunari from Biwi No. 1 (1999) — and its alleged unauthorized use in David Dhawan's upcoming film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, starring Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur, and Pooja Hegde, scheduled for release on June 5, 2026.
But what Bhagnani revealed about Coolie No. 1 (2020) along the way was far more explosive than any song dispute.
"I Was Just a Namesake Producer" — The Rs 70 Crore Claim
At the heart of Bhagnani's grievance lies a staggering financial allegation. The producer stated plainly: "I was just a namesake producer on Coolie No. 1. It was David ji who 100% handled the production and expenses. I paid David ji big money to make that film; almost Rs. 70 crores, which was not even his worth."
He further claimed the film resulted in a net loss of approximately Rs 27 crore for him, and that the only person who never once reached out to acknowledge this was Varun Dhawan himself — the film's lead star.
"We suffered a loss of around Rs. 27 crores in Coolie No 1," Bhagnani said. "Varun Dhawan never bothered to check."
This is a significant accusation. It paints a picture of a producer who bankrolled an entire production, handed over creative and operational control to a director, and then walked away carrying both the financial losses and the silence of the people involved.
What Actually Happened With Coolie No. 1 (2020)?
To understand the weight of these claims, context matters enormously.
Coolie No. 1 (2020) was a remake of David Dhawan's own 1995 blockbuster of the same name — that version starred Govinda and Karisma Kapoor and was a massive commercial hit. The 2020 remake brought together Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan, with David Dhawan returning to direct.
The film was originally planned for a theatrical release on May 1, 2020, but COVID-19 changed everything. Theatres shut down across India, and the film eventually released directly on Amazon Prime Video on Christmas Day, December 25, 2020.
Despite the pandemic-driven pivot and widespread critical panning — the film's IMDB rating reportedly bottomed out at 1.3 at one point before negative reviews were moderated — its OTT performance was substantial. It topped Ormax Media's festive OTT viewership charts and became one of Amazon Prime's most-watched Christmas releases in India.
On paper, the OTT deal looked like a rescue. But Bhagnani's account suggests the numbers behind the scenes told a very different story.
The Financial Picture: What We Know
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The Rs 70 crore figure is the most contested. A source close to the Dhawan camp, speaking to Bollywood Hungama anonymously, dismissed it flatly: "This is laughable. David Dhawan was never paid Rs. 70 crores. If that had happened, David Dhawan would have been the highest-paid director in the country at that time."
The same source alleged that it was actually Bhagnani's production house that had left film vendors unpaid — and that the Dhawans stepped in, paying nearly Rs 16 crore from their own pocket to settle vendor dues and protect their professional reputation.
The London vs Bangkok Flashpoint
One particularly striking detail to emerge from Bhagnani's press conference: he revealed that he had wanted Coolie No. 1 to include a London shooting schedule. David Dhawan reportedly refused.
Bhagnani recounted Dhawan's reasoning: "He and Varun felt they would get trolled if a Coolie was shown in London. But they shot in Bangkok. According to David ji, a Coolie can go to Bangkok but not London!"
It's a revealing anecdote — one that underscores Bhagnani's core complaint: that despite being the financier, he had no meaningful say over the film's creative or logistical decisions. He was, as he put it, the "namesake producer."
The Real Fight: Chunari Chunari and the IP Rights Battle
While the Coolie No. 1 revelations grabbed headlines, the immediate legal flashpoint is the Chunari Chunari dispute — and it has direct consequences for a film releasing in less than two weeks.
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, directed by David Dhawan and produced by Ramesh Taurani of Tips Films, is set to hit theatres on June 5, 2026. The film reportedly includes recreations of Chunari Chunari and Ishq Sona Hai — both originally from Biwi No. 1 (1999), a film produced by Bhagnani's Pooja Entertainment.
The crux of the dispute is the distinction between music rights (held by Tips Music since 1999) and visual/IP rights (which Bhagnani claims belong to Pooja Entertainment as the film's producer). Tips Music has called Bhagnani's lawsuit "malicious and misconceived," asserting it is the lawful owner of the music.
Courts have so far sided with Bhagnani — at least partially. A Bihar court granted an interim stay order in early May 2026, and a separate court later granted interim protection to Pooja Entertainment. The trailer launch of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai was abruptly postponed on May 21, attributed publicly to a "technical glitch" — but Bhagnani directly linked the delay to his court order.
However, according to a source close to the Tips-Dhawan camp, Bhagnani lost a Supreme Court hearing on May 22 — the same day as the press conference — which is why the makers proceeded confidently with their trailer launch soon after.
#Bollywood | 'I Paid Rs 70 Crore, It Was Not Even His Worth': Vashu Bhagnani Slams David Dhawan, Varun Dhawanhttps://t.co/qXn1zN6JWQ
— News18 (@CNNnews18) May 23, 2026
Two Sides, One Messy Story
What makes this dispute genuinely complicated — and worth following beyond the surface drama — is that both sides have credible grievances and inconvenient facts to answer for.
Bhagnani's position: He funded Coolie No. 1, had no creative control, suffered losses, received no acknowledgment, and now finds his intellectual property from Biwi No. 1 being commercially exploited without permission or compensation.
The Dhawan camp's position: The Rs 70 crore claim is exaggerated; the Dhawans actually paid Rs 16 crore to protect vendors Bhagnani had allegedly left stranded; and the Chunari Chunari lawsuit was filed suspiciously close to the film's release — raising questions about strategic timing rather than genuine grievance.
On the Biwi No. 1 sequel, Bhagnani said he worked on the project with David Dhawan for six months before Rohit Dhawan (David's son) told him the script wasn't ready. Months later, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai — starring Varun Dhawan and using songs from Biwi No. 1 — was announced with Tips Films. Bhagnani sees this as a direct betrayal.
The Dhawan-linked source counters that the two films have nothing in common story-wise, and that using a song from a different era's catalogue (with Tips holding music rights) is not the same as appropriating Biwi No. 1's IP.
Why This Matters Beyond the Gossip
Strip away the personalities and this dispute touches something genuinely important in Indian cinema: who really owns a film's legacy?
When a producer finances a film and sells music rights to a label, do those rights include the right to commercially recreate the song — including its visuals — in a new film without returning to the original producer? That question has no clean answer in Indian law yet, and the Chunari Chunari case may help set a precedent.
Bhagnani himself framed it starkly: "My IP value is Rs. 10 crores or Rs. 50 crores, but now it's zero because without Chunari Chunari, I can't make Biwi No. 1."
That's the real stakes: not one song, but the viability of an entire sequel — and by extension, a producer's ability to control what he created.
What Happens Next
- June 5, 2026: Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai is currently scheduled for theatrical release, despite ongoing legal proceedings.
- Supreme Court: Vashu Bhagnani reportedly lost a hearing on May 22; the legal battle is expected to continue at multiple court levels.
- Biwi No. 1 sequel: Bhagnani has made clear that his ability to make the sequel depends on resolving the IP rights issue around Chunari Chunari.
- Coolie No. 1 aftermath: No public response from David Dhawan or Varun Dhawan on the Rs 70 crore claim as of publication.
The Dhawan-Bhagnani axis — one of Bollywood's most commercially prolific collaborations of the 1990s — appears to be in deep, possibly irreparable, trouble. What began as a dispute over a 27-year-old song has now surfaced years of unresolved financial grievance, creative friction, and what one side calls broken promises.
Whether this gets settled in a courtroom or across a negotiating table, Bollywood is watching — and so is anyone who cares about who really owns the films that shape popular culture.
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