Prernaa Arora lashes out at her Parmanu partner

The falling-out between actor John Abraham and producer Prernaa Arora has turned to be an ugly one, with the two trading public insults at each other.

Prernaa’s KriArj Entertainment and John’s Johan Abraham Entertainment had collaborated for the true-life political drama Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran. But the real life drama between the two, threatens to get far more dramatic and murkier.

After issuing public notices against one another, John and Prernaa are now locked in a fierce verbal battle with John accusing Prernaa of financial irregularities and defaulting on commitments.

The Madras Café actor has also referred to the producer as a ‘trader’ who ‘came into the business with a lot of money that has now whittled off’.

 Retorting to John’s comment, Prernaa says, “We are not traders from outside. My father is a film producer and I was born and brought up in the film industry. I’ve grown up with the best of actors and filmmakers, watching all the great movies over the decades. Hindi cinema is part of my genes.”

The producer also questions John’s acquaintance with Hindi cinema.

“How many of Hindi classics has he watched? With due respect he couldn’t speak a line of Hindi when he came into films. So who is the trader from the outside? And what is wrong with being a trader?” she asks.

Prernaa also tells that John has insulted her on many occasions but has never spoken to him badly. “He has been extremely rude and discourteous to me on many occasions,” she says.

“On several occasions I’ve been reduced to tears because of his obnoxious behaviour. I hate myself for sounding week and emotional. This business has no place for soft-hearted people. But I guess being a woman has certain inbuilt vulnerabilities that can be taken advantage of. While John would often be sweet to me on my face I’d hear how he was badmouthing me to all and sundry in the film industry. Sorry, but gentlemen don’t talk like that about women,” she adds.

About the contentious budget Prernaa explains, “John pegged it at '35 crore which was way too high for a film with no stars except John. Of that we’ve already paid 30 crore and three crores will be paid on delivery. It’s just the remaining two crore that we have been pleading with him to forgo. But he is not willing to budge.”

The producer also accuses John of misleading her, as his team was not in place. “He gave me the impression that he had a whole infrastructure when in fact he had just one person to take care of all the production work. The entire production process for Parmanu was outsourced. No major studio was willing to come on board for the film,” she rues.