On Monday, Indiran faces the Oslo district court.
– I am really looking forward to finishing this, but I am excited. I have never sat in court before, says Indiran to TV 2.
More than six years have passed since, on the evening of December 22, 2016, he was arrested and charged with a serious drug offence. On Christmas Eve, he was remanded in custody, and there he remained until 10 February 2017.
Then followed a long and uncertain time for Indiran. The case was investigated for three and a half years. Not until August 2020 was the case dropped on the status of the evidence.
Sued the state
Indiran believes he lost a lot of money as a result of the investigation, both because he was in custody and because the case became known in the press. He therefore applied for restitution and compensation.
In March last year, he was awarded NOK 139,705. Of that, NOK 77,505 was for lost income from TV3 and Rommen school, where he worked. The rest was a discretionary compensation.
Indiran and his lawyer, Inam Ghous Ali, believe the amount is far too small. That is why they have sued the Norwegian Civil Rights Administration, which they will face in court on Monday.
In the claim from Indiran’s lawyer, which TV 2 has seen, it is calculated that Indiran should have been awarded NOK 1,258,000.
No missions
Lawyer Ali points out that, when he was arrested, Indiran was already known from his participation in “Paradise Hotel” in 2016.
Ali writes to the court that Indiran “was the only male reality celebrity with a minority background with subsequent natural growth potential in the television and entertainment industry”.
His plan was to grow even bigger on social media and “build up the Mayoo brand”, writes the lawyer.
RELIEF DUO: Mayoo and his lawyer Inam Ghous Ali met TV 2 in Lørenskog when the case was dismissed in August 2020. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
“During the charge period, the plaintiff’s career has not had the natural development that a reality celebrity of his popularity would have,” he writes.
In fact, Indiran did not have a single assignment in the television and entertainment industry while he was under drug charges between December 2016 and August 2020.
– Forget career and money; it does not compensate for the freedom and time I lost. I shouldn’t have spent the golden years of my 20s feeling rejected and judged. People stopped inviting me to things. I was simply “cancelled”, says Indiran to TV 2.
“Abu” in the witness box
The state’s civil law administration agrees that Indiran has lost job opportunities in the entertainment industry as a result of the investigation. However, they believe that his demand is far too high.
If someone claims money for a loss of income, and the claim is higher than the level of previous income, the law places stricter requirements on the claimant’s evidence that he has actually lost that much money.
As evidence, Indira’s lawyer lists all his TV appearances after the shutdown.
Indiran featured in three seasons of “Couch” on TV 2. He has also participated in “Company Lauritzen” (TV 2), “Remember room” (TV 2), “Fangene på fortet” (TV3), “Verdens beste venner” (NRK) and “Jendis-VM” (NRK).
COMPANY RECRUIT: Mayoo Indiran was popular among viewers when he participated in the third season of “Kompani Lauritzen”. Photo: Matti Bernitz / TV 2
In court, they will present all of Indiran’s participation contracts to highlight the income he would have had from similar jobs had he not been under investigation for serious crime.
– I could have been where I am now, three years and eight months ago. Who knows where I would have been today? At least I had avoided going through all this. I might have had a completely different mental health, for example, he says to TV 2.
Indiran and his lawyer have summoned Abubakar “Abu” Hussain (35), Indiran’s close friend and colleague, to testify in the case.
COMPANIES: Abu and Mayoo were among the many celebrities on the red carpet during TV 2’s autumn launch last year. Photo: Erik Teige / TV 2
Government lawyer Bjarne Snipsøyr, who represents the state, believes that it is Hussain who is the reason why Indiran received more assignments in the entertainment industry from 2021, because he invited Indiran to be part of “Sofa”.
Hussain has not responded to TV 2’s inquiry about the matter.
Disagree about salary
Indiran estimates that, if he had not been charged in the drug case, he would have earned NOK 239,146 in 2017, because that was how much he earned in 2021.
In the same way, he calculates that he would earn NOK 631,000 in 2018, the same as he earned in 2022.
In 2019, he believes that he would have earned the same as he will earn in 2023 – an amount he estimates to be around one million kroner. In that case, there is a wage increase of 58.5 per cent compared to 2022.
– Why do you estimate that you will make so much money?
– In the industry I work in, the contracts come continuously. If I do a good job, I get new assignments. So far this year it has gone very well. I get assignment after assignment. Then we’ll see how much I’ve earned when the year is over, replies Indiran.
MEET HERE: Two days have been set aside for the civil trial in Oslo district court next week. Photo: Erik Edland / TV 2
Government attorney Snipsøyr believes that Indiran’s calculations cannot be used as a basis.
The State believes that the right thing to do would be to apply an average annual salary increase of 3 per cent, which is common legal practice.
Thus, the government attorney believes that Indiran is not entitled to more money than he has already received. If Indiran succeeds with his claim, the government attorney believes that he should have a maximum of NOK 43,000 more than he has received before.
Lost “Paradise” contract
In the claim from Indiran, it also appears that he had signed a participation agreement for “Paradise Hotel” also in 2017. He was to receive NOK 30,000 for participating in the program for the second time.
When he was charged, TV3 canceled the contract.
Indiran believes he would have earned more money in 2017 if he quit his job at Rommen school, where he had an annual salary of NOK 342,037, and focused on the entertainment industry.
Snipsøyr thinks that is wrong. The government attorney has gone through the 192 people who had been participants in the “Paradise Hotel” up to and including 2016, when Indiran participated.
Of the nine most famous participants, only Stian Thorbjørnsen (40), best known by the stage name “Staysman”, earned more during his year as a participant than Indiran had in salary at school, according to Snipsøyr.
“We would also like to point out that the presenter of the Paradise Hotel, Triana Iglesias, does not seem to have lit significantly more than what the plaintiff did at Rommen skole”, he writes in his pleadings to the court.
Viaplay Group, which owns TV3 and broadcasts “Paradise Hotel”, does not want to comment on the case.
Two days have been set aside for the trial next week. Indiran says that he has not familiarized himself well with the law, but that his sense of justice indicates a positive outcome for him.
– Yes, the matter is about money, and it is money that people talk about all the time, but for me that is not the point here. I just don’t want to feel like I’m being punished for something I shouldn’t be punished for, he says.
