‘Haseeb spent Rs 10 crore for Kalidas’ film, Jayaram completely ignored him when asked for help’, says Alleppey Ashraf

Filmmaker Alleppey Ashraf revealed about the betrayal producer Haseeb, brother of actress Usha Hasina, faced from actor Jayaram. He revealed that Haseeb’s financial ruin and subsequent health issues were the result of Jayaram failing to keep the assurances he had given. Haseeb is the producer of Happy Sardar, starring Kalidas Jayaram. Ashraf said the film effectively brought an end to Haseeb’s career as a producer and destroyed his mental, physical and financial well-being.

Alleppey Ashraf’s words
‘Haseeb was a producer who rose from nothing and built an empire through hard work. Apart from producing films, he arranged finance for other producers and facilitated the purchase of satellite rights, becoming an indispensable figure in the industry.

He was living a prosperous life with a luxurious house in Alappuzha, expensive cars and a gold shop when an unexpected blow struck him. He was compelled to take over a project that another producer had abandoned after investing a large amount of money.

Until then, Haseeb had produced films that had strong artist value. For the first time, he took responsibility for a film directed by a newcomer with no proven market value.
That was Happy Sardar, starring Kalidas Jayaram. I asked Haseeb why a businessman like him would take up such a project. His reply was: ‘It is my faith in Jayaram. Jayaram told me that I should take up his son’s film and that whatever happened, he would stand by me. We can solve any problem together. That assurance gave me confidence.’

Haseeb told me that many people had warned him not to take up the project, but he ignored them. Shooting began with crores being poured into it. The film was shot extensively in Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. As the shoot progressed, he kept borrowing money from Marwari financiers at high interest rates. Finance was raised from four different sources to complete the film.

When the film was released with great expectations, it did not even recover the money spent on putting up posters. The film collapsed completely. Along with it, producer Haseeb also collapsed under the mental shock. His liabilities from the film amounted to nearly Rs 10 crore. Once a producer is ruined by debts, who will give him dates for another film? Hoping for help, Haseeb approached Jayaram along with director Kannan Thamarakkulam of Aadupuliyattam. They said the story for a sequel was ready and requested dates.

Jayaram’s vague reply was that they would have to wait a year. Haseeb later said Jayaram was not that busy with major projects at that time and that he understood the actor was trying to avoid a producer who had no money. The promises Jayaram had made for the sake of his son had been forgotten.

Jayaram later sent a voice message saying, ‘Everything happens for the good. Consider this also as something for the good. God will help. I will pray.’ Even there, he did not keep his word. He did not help Haseeb, while creditors tightened their grip from all sides and his properties reached the verge of attachment.

Haseeb used to share everything with me. Once he told me with great pain that he had asked Jayaram for one more favour. He said, ‘I am in severe financial difficulty. I will somehow repay the principal amount I borrowed from Gokulam Gopalan. Please ask Gopalettan to waive the interest. If Jayaram asks, he will listen.’ Jayaram agreed, but he did not do it.

I then told Haseeb that I would not blame Jayaram, because everyone, including me, had warned him not to take up that film. He ignored all those warnings. This was a fate he invited upon himself.’