Upasana Singh: Harnaaz Sandhu doesn’t care about her Punjabi film now, her focus is Bollywood and Hollywood

Upasana Singh has taken legal action against Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu for allegedly breaching a contract for her Punjabi film, and detaching herself from the film completely. The actor-producer reveals a summon has been sent to her, confessing that she has lost a lot of money due to her.

Sandhu has found herself in legal trouble for Punjabi film Bai Ji Kuttange, which also stars Singh’s son, Nanak. Singh has acted and produced the film.

“My contract with Harnaaz is before she became Miss Universe. I gave her a chance when she was a struggling newcomer. She used to stay with us in Mumbai. I have groomed her, taught her acting. She was just like my kid, and she used to call me her godmother. I threw a party when she won the international pageant. But she broke her ties with us after getting international recognition,” Singh tells us.

The film was supposed to release in May earlier this year, but Singh says they changed the release date to August 19 so that “Harnaaz gets free from her Miss Universe commitments, and can give time to the film”.

According to the contract, Harnaaz was supposed to give 25 days for promotion as a lead, claims Singh.

“But she just detached herself from the film, and it seems from the Punjabi film industry as well after she won the pageant. I even told her to give me 5 days if 25 days is too much for her now. She is not even posting anything about the film on social media, when she is posting about all the brands and parties on her handle,” says the actor.

Opening up about her decision to take the legal route, Singh says she was left with no other options when “Harnaaz stopped responding to her mails, messages and calls”.

“She didn’t even respond to my notice. I was tired of chasing her. Now, the court is sending her a summon today (August 5),” adds the actor, who has been working in the industry for the past over 30 years.

Narrating an incident, Singh shares, “Recently, an actor from the team called her and asked her if she is willing to do a show in Dubai, and she responded to show her willingness, and told him to reach out to her team to discuss money matters. When the actor requested her to give dates to me, she disconnected the call only. Imagine?”

Here, Singh shares that the crisis has come with a financial setback for her as well. “I put in my hard earned money to produce the film. When we changed the release date, at that time also, I lost so much money. Now, many sponsors are backing out during promotion saying ‘Harnaaz is not coming’. I had to take a loan to release and promote my film now,” she says.

“Right now, it seems Punjabi actors and the industry have become too small for Harnaaz. When she won the pageant, she said she is a proud Punjabi, and when it came to do something for the industry, and give it international exposure, she took a step back. Drama kar rahe the aap us time. Abhi usko sir Bollywood and Hollywood ki padi hai. Punjabi film industry is too small for her. Meine sunna that log change ho jaate hain, aaj dekh rahi hun,” exclaims Singh.

Now, Singh has filed a civil suit in the Chandigarh district court, and she is sure an action will be taken. “But I am the one losing. I have lost so much money, and the promotion time which was valuable for my film. She broke my trust. I just hope she doesn’t repeat this with anyone else,” she ends with disappointment.

Meanwhile, we also reached out to Sandhu, who didn’t respond till the time the story went in press.