MumbaiThe Delhi High Court on Friday refused to stay the release of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s biopic ‘Nyay: The Justice’ in theaters and on OTT platforms, saying there is no “unholy interest” in it. The story of the life of the man who was “extraordinary”.
A vacation bench of Justice Anoop Jairam Bhambhani and Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that there was nothing to show that the production of films about his life based on “what is available in the public domain” would have any detrimental effect on Rajput’s reputation. Will have.
Rajput’s father Krishan Kishore Singh had challenged the single judge’s order refusing to ban the film or bar anyone from using his son’s name or likeness in films.
The High Court said that there is no written script or story which the filmmaker has used and refused to pass any interim order on the appeal of Sushant’s father.
“There is nothing that they (producers) have or could have used except that which is available in the public domain. There is no unholy interest in the life story because the man’s life was an extraordinary life that was made in a film. It is a laudable subject for and he has made a film, the court said.
The High Court issued notices seeking response from the film’s director Dilip Gulati and producers Sarla Saraogi and Rahul Sharma and others while fixing the matter for hearing on July 14.
The bench took note of the submission of senior advocate Chander Lal that the film has been released on the website and a mobile app on June 11 as per the schedule.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing Rajput’s father, argued that the producer and director of the film has commercially exploited the life story of the actor, who allegedly committed suicide at his Mumbai home last year.
Salve argued that the single judge had erroneously applied and misinterpreted the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy case (right to privacy).
Initially, the lawyer appearing for the director of the film told the court that the film has been released on the OTT platform named Laplap Originals as per schedule.
However, Salve said: This is a somewhat obscure forum and only God knows what kind of website it is.
He said that the film is violative of the right to privacy and right to a fair trial and with every passing day it is harming the reputation of the actor.
“The film is trying to portray his life. What really happened to him is still being investigated. You can’t throw a gun,” Salve said.
The High Court had earlier sought to know whether both the film’s director and the actor’s father had given conflicting statements on this aspect, following which ‘Nyay: The Justice’, based on Rajput’s life, was released as scheduled on June 11. has gone.
The single judge had on June 10 refused to stay the release of several films, including ‘Nyay: The Justice’, saying these films were neither portrayed as biopics nor depicted what happened in his life. Factual description.
“Posthumous right to privacy is not allowed”, it had said in its interim order on a plea by Rajput’s father to ban such films.
The single judge had earlier said that it has found merit in the productions of the producers and directors that if the information about the events is already in the public domain, then no request for infringement of right to privacy can be made on a film inspired by such events. .
Some upcoming or proposed film projects based on his son’s life include “Suicide or Murder: A Star Was Lost”, “Shashank” and an unnamed crowd-funded film.
The court had directed the filmmakers to furnish a full account of the revenue earned from the films, if any case of loss arises in future and listed the suit before the joint registrar for completion of the petition.
It had said that the producers and directors have claimed that the film is a fictionalized depiction of true events surrounding the lives of film/TV personalities, including Rajput, who was found dead at his home in Mumbai. The investigation is still on.
The court had said that it did not find merit in the plaintiff’s plea of restraint on the strength of his right to a fair trial relating to the unnatural death of his son, that no ground has been established to show how the films would affect the trial. .
It had termed as a wrong argument that the contents of the film were defamatory and would harm the reputation of him and his son.
The suit claimed that if “film, web-series, book or any other material of a similar nature is allowed to be published or broadcast, it will affect the right of the victim and the deceased to free and fair trial as may be prescribed”. that it may create prejudice against them.”
It has also been argued that Rajput being a well-known personality, “any misuse of his name/image/caricature/style of conveying is also tantamount to acts of passing apart from infringement of the right of personality vested with the plaintiff”. .
Filmmakers of upcoming and proposed films have opposed Rajput’s father’s pleas.
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