The NCB raided the producer’s office in Bandra
Imtiaz Khatri (extreme left) had helped bankroll fashion shows in 2017
After extensive raids conducted at the office of Imtiaz Khatri in Bandra, the man has come under the scanner yet again. Khatri’s name had earlier come up in the SSR death case. Khatri was accused of supplying drugs by Ashok Saraogi, who was Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager Shruti Modi’s lawyer.
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Close aides told mid-day that while he is a builder by profession, he is a man of movies at heart. He owns INK Infrastructure and runs a production studio under the name VVIP Universal Entertainment Company. In 2017, Khatri had bankrolled the 2017 Marathi-language drama film Hrudayantar, which marked the directorial debut of fashion designer Vikram Phadnis. One of the film’s core team members told us, “He [Khatri] loves movies. He has always gravitated towards content-driven stories. He was trying to create a strong ground in regional films before making his Bollywood debut.”
He has professionally collaborated with Tiger Shroff on a local super soccer tournament in 2017. He had apparently got Manish Malhotra and Sooraj Pancholi to back the 2016 edition of the same. Our source also adds, “His company Ink Infrastructure started the charity super soccer tournament to motivate and encourage young players who don’t have the financial means to pursue the sport.” In June 2017, Khatri and Shroff had kicked off a venture to start 12 mixed martial arts schools across the country. Eventually Shroff got busy with his Bollywood career and the plan never quite took off.
Another source from the fashion circles said that Khatri helped bankroll fashion shows in Goa and Dubai in 2017, which were attended by several stars. An acquaintance, on condition of anonymity, said, “He was out of action in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 incident [SSR case] made him go into a shell. He is fun to hang out with, passionate about work, and invested in social causes.” About his name propping up in the drugs case he says, “I don’t know about that.”
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