A scheduling dispute over two films planned for the next Eid-ul-Azha has escalated into a legal matter, with production house Real Energy Production accusing actor Sariful Razz of breaching his contract for the film ‘Thikana’.
The company sent Razz a legal notice on 28 October through Barrister Sajib Mahmud Alam. It alleges that the actor has failed to provide shooting dates for ‘Thikana’ while announcing another film for release during the same Eid period. The notice gives him 48 hours to confirm his availability, warning that legal action may follow if he fails to do so.
According to the notice, Razz signed an artist service agreement with Real Energy Production to act in ‘Thikana’ and participate in its promotional activities.
He also received an advance payment. Clause 9 of the agreement states that the film would be released during or after Eid-ul-Azha 2027, while Clause 4.11 prevents another project featuring him in a leading or significant role from being released during the same period.
The dispute intensified after Razz announced on Facebook on 31 August that he had acted in a film titled ‘Kanavula Paradox’, which is also scheduled for Eid-ul-Azha 2027.
The notice claims the announcement prompted sponsors and stakeholders of ‘Thikana’ to consider withdrawing their support.
Real Energy Production had sent an earlier notice on 2 September, demanding that Razz stop promoting the competing film, remove his Facebook post, issue a public apology within 24 hours and provide written assurance that he would honour the agreement.
The latest notice claims that Razz and his manager subsequently contacted the production company and promised to resolve the matter through discussion. However, they did not provide a shooting schedule.
The company has now requested dates between 1 February and 10 March, saying the film needs two months of post-production to meet its planned Eid release.
Speaking to TIMES, Shahreen Akter Sumi said discussions with Razz about the film had begun in May or June. She said he liked the story narrated by director Zubair Ibna Bakar and signed the agreement after hearing the script.
Sumi claimed she explained every page of the contract to Razz before he signed it. She said she also handed a copy to his manager and gave them an opportunity to request changes.
According to her, Razz understood that ‘Thikana’ was an Eid-ul-Azha 2027 project and that another film featuring him could not be released during the same period.
Sumi said that a few days after signing the agreement, Razz, director Tanim Noor and others announced ‘Kanavula Paradox’ on Facebook.
When she contacted Noor the following morning, he reportedly said he had not been informed that Razz had already signed an agreement for ‘Thikana’.
Sumi later spoke to Razz and softened her position. She proposed that both films could be released if Noor had no objection, provided Razz first allocated time for shooting ‘Thikana’.
However, she said Razz’s manager informed her that the actor would begin work on a Netflix project on 20 December and would not be available before 15 February.
He could offer dates from 1 March, but Sumi said that would leave insufficient time for post-production before Eid.
As an alternative, she requested his availability from late October until 20 November. Razz reportedly declined, citing rehearsals for a project by Rafi.
“I sent message after message and called him, but he did not answer my calls or reply to my texts. I only asked for a reasonable schedule. Eid is in May, so how would dates in April help? This is not a television drama that can be shot in three days and completed in post-production in another two. There was no other way to communicate, which is why we had to send a legal notice,” Sumi said.
She further claimed that the production company had already spent between Tk30 lakh and Tk40 lakh on the film. Around 15 to 20 crew members are involved, and the company has paid 50 per cent advances to artistes.
According to Sumi, director Zubayer Ibna Bakar has also stayed away from making television dramas for nearly four months to focus on the film. Senior actors such as Zahid Hasan have been asking for shooting dates, but the director cannot confirm their schedules without securing the lead actor’s availability.
Sumi added that the company’s reputation was also being affected because sponsors had invited them to sign agreements, but they could not proceed without a confirmed production schedule.
“I am not asking him to return the money. I am asking for dates. He can work on 10 other films; I have no problem with that. But he should give me my dates first. He signed with us earlier. First come, first served—that is only fair,” she said.
Sumi said she had sent Razz a scanned copy of the legal notice through WhatsApp but did not know whether he had received it.
Repeated attempts to contact Sariful Razz for his response were unsuccessful, as his phone was found switched off.
