the director Aditya Dhar got legal help after a civil court in Mumbai refused to stay the OTT release of Dhurandhar 2, alleging that the film was based on a copied script.Film maker Santosh Kumar approached the court seeking an interim injunction against the digital release of the film, claiming that Dhar had used elements of his original script. However, the court dismissed the claim, allowing the film’s OTT rollout to proceed as planned.
The Court sees no reason to issue an immediate injunction
According to Liv Law, in a June 4 order, Justice Yunus Kharadi observed that Kumar had failed to disclose that he had previously filed a similar claim in the Karnataka High Court.The Karnataka High Court dismissed the plea while giving Kumar liberty to seek an appropriate remedy before a competent forum. The Mumbai court observed that this fact was not disclosed in the present case.“But this fact was not disclosed by the complainant, which will prima facie show that he did not come with clean hands,” said the judge.
The plaintiff failed to establish similarities, the court says
The court also considered the defense’s argument that Kumar had sought directions against an OTT platform without making any streaming service a party to the suit.The judge further noted that no comparative material was presented to establish the similarities between Kumar’s script and the film.“From the complaint and documents, the plaintiff did not make such a comparison to show the similarity of the script and the interviews and unless and until this is verified, the vindication and appointment of the court commissioner cannot be granted,” the order said.Furthermore, the court observed that the rights related to the film had already been created in favor of third parties, and at this stage the injunction has become impossible.
The “balance of convenience” favors the defendants
Rejecting the claim, the court held that acquittal would cause more harm to the defendants than to the plaintiff.“Consequently, if a temporary injunction is granted in favor of the plaintiff, it will cause irreparable loss to the defendants. If the plaintiff succeeds in the case, he will be able to claim compensation; therefore, it would not cause irreparable loss,” said the court.The judge concluded that the balance of convenience rested with the plaintiff and dismissed the interim appeal.
Dhurandhar 2 releases on OTT
The legal development comes as Dhurandhar 2 begins its OTT run after a successful theatrical release. The film released digitally on June 4 and is now live on JioHotstar.Directed by Aditya Dhar, he stars in the sequel Ranveer Singh along with Sara Arjun, Gaurav Gera, Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Rakesh Bedi and Arjun Rampal in the lead role. The first film also starred Akshaye Khanna in a pivotal role.Recently, the franchise crossed the Rs 3 billion mark worldwide, becoming the first Indian franchise to achieve the milestone.
