People Media Factory (PMF), the banner behind The Raja Saab, has issued a statement, on its social media page, clarifying concerns over worker payments and addressing speculation surrounding the film’s production on Saturday.
The company said it had disbursed nearly Rs 60 crore to daily wage workers over the past year for below-the-line and production activities, while another Rs 30 crore was paid to monthly contract associates whose salaries are “fully current.” According to PMF, about Rs 1 crore remains pending from schedules in July.
In its note, the banner stressed that it would now follow a direct-payment model. “To ensure greater transparency and to eliminate past malpractices of routing payments through representatives, all payments will henceforth be made directly to workers into their bank accounts. PMF will not release funds to intermediaries under any circumstance,” the statement said.
The producers also criticised commentary from outsiders on the issue. “It is both inaccurate and inappropriate for unrelated individuals or self-proclaimed federation/union leaders to make public statements regarding internal company payments. People Media Factory has no agreements or financial obligations with any federations/unions and consequently holds no dues to them,” it added.
PMF confirmed that exceptions were being made to its usual policy to address the July backlog. “Taking into consideration the difficulties being faced by our persons who have worked for us, we have decided to make exception to the policy and make the payments this week,” it noted, asking workers to submit their details to executive producers for verification.
The clarification comes amid a lawsuit filed by Delhi-based Ivy Entertainment against PMF and its directors, alleging contractual breaches. Ivy has sought a refund of Rs 218 crore, citing delays in production, lack of fund utilisation details, and repeated postponement of the theatrical release. The Delhi High Court is hearing the matter.
Directed by Maruthi and starring Prabhas, The Raja Saab is billed as a horror-comedy. Despite the ongoing legal dispute, the film is aiming for a Sankranthi 2026 release, with Netflix having secured its Hindi streaming rights.
