June 28, 2026: Actor Satendra Soni, who has appeared in Laapataa Ladies and Mirzapur, has made serious allegations against filmmaker Pushpendra Singh after what he described as a disturbing experience on the sets of an upcoming film in Madhya Pradesh.
In an emotional video shared on Instagram, Satendra claimed that he and several other character artistes were removed from the film after asking for pending payments. He also alleged that the director threatened to kill them.
According to Satendra, he had travelled to Maihar to shoot for Ped Palkhi. He said he received a signing amount of Rs 50,000 before the shoot, while the remaining payment was promised during production. However, after working for nearly eight days, he claimed no further payment was made.
Recalling the incident, the actor said that when he raised the issue of unpaid dues, he was allegedly asked to vacate the hotel immediately. Satendra further alleged that filmmaker Pushpendra Singh threatened him with dire consequences if he did not leave.
Satendra Soni Says He Was Forced to Leave Film Set Over Pending Payment
In the caption accompanying the video, Satendra Soni claimed that several crew members had also not received their payments. He further alleged that Pushpendra’s wife and actor Pragati Chauhan verbally abused him during the confrontation. Feeling unsafe, Satendra said he checked out of the hotel along with fellow actors Shreedhar Dubey and Pankaj Sharma.
A few hours later, Satendra shared another video to inform followers that he and the others had safely returned to Mumbai. Thanking the Maihar police for their support, he also expressed gratitude to actor Ashutosh Rana, who, according to him, stepped in to help during the difficult situation.
“We were mentally disturbed. It was the first time we had faced something like this,” Satendra said in the video, adding that the support they received helped them return home safely.
The allegations have once again brought attention to the challenges faced by character artistes in the film industry. Delayed payments, financial insecurity and unequal treatment have long been recurring concerns for supporting actors.
Recently, several character artistes spoke about these issues, saying payments are often delayed for months while supporting actors receive significantly lower remuneration than lead stars. Many also claimed that secondary actors are usually the first to face payment cuts or delays when projects run into financial trouble.
As of now, filmmaker Pushpendra Singh has not publicly responded to Satendra Soni’s allegations.