#Padmavat Controversies

[cherienymphe]

omg as someone from south asia, i love that my fav on here watches BOLLYWOOD you should definitely check out padmavat its very poweful:)

I've seen that one! I enjoyed it but the controversy surrounding it put me off for years and I see where a lot of people were coming from but it's stunning (as all Bollywood movies are tbh)

[belowdbelt-blog]

Padmavati VS Karni Sena Controversy | Chai with Chogle Episode-1 | Below The Belt

[theysaywhatasadsight]

you....... haven't seen padmavat tanya w h y

It wasn't released here (cuz of the controversy) and then i never caught it on tv ill watch it post exams

[anshtyagi-blog]

Padmavati Controversy

Padmaavat is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made and faced numerous controversies during its release. Padmaavat was released on January 25 with a smoothly running at Box Office. see more: http://www.indiacreations.in/padmaavat-box-office-collection/

[shivam11110000]

Controversial movie title of bollywood: Before Gangubai Kathiawadi, the names of these films including Lakshmi, Billu and Padmavat were changed after getting into controversies | गंगूबाई काठियावाड़ी से पहले, लक्ष्मी, बिल्लू और पद्मावत समेत विवादों में आने के बाद इन फिल्मों के बदले गए थे नाम

Controversial movie title of bollywood: Before Gangubai Kathiawadi, the names of these films including Lakshmi, Billu and Padmavat were changed after getting into controversies | गंगूबाई काठियावाड़ी से पहले, लक्ष्मी, बिल्लू और पद्मावत समेत विवादों में आने के बाद इन फिल्मों के बदले गए थे नाम

Hindi News Entertainment Bollywood Controversial Movie Title Of Bollywood: Before Gangubai Kathiawadi, The Names Of These Films Including Lakshmi, Billu And Padmavat Were Changed After Getting Into Controversies Ads से है परेशान? बिना Ads खबरों के लिए इनस्टॉल करें दैनिक भास्कर ऐप 26 मिनट पहले कॉपी लिंक आलिया भट्ट स्टारर फिल्म गंगूबाई काठियावाड़ी रिलीज होने से पहले ही विवादों में आ चुकी है।…

[vilaspatelvlogs]

बॉलीवुड फिल्मों के विवादित टाइटल: गंगूबाई काठियावाड़ी से पहले, लक्ष्मी, बिल्लू और पद्मावत समेत विवादों में आने के बाद इन फिल्मों के बदले गए थे नाम

बॉलीवुड फिल्मों के विवादित टाइटल: गंगूबाई काठियावाड़ी से पहले, लक्ष्मी, बिल्लू और पद्मावत समेत विवादों में आने के बाद इन फिल्मों के बदले गए थे नाम

Hindi News Entertainment Bollywood Controversial Movie Title Of Bollywood: Before Gangubai Kathiawadi, The Names Of These Films Including Lakshmi, Billu And Padmavat Were Changed After Getting Into Controversies Ads से है परेशान? बिना Ads खबरों के लिए इनस्टॉल करें दैनिक भास्कर ऐप 12 मिनट पहले कॉपी लिंक आलिया भट्ट स्टारर फिल्म गंगूबाई काठियावाड़ी रिलीज होने से पहले ही विवादों में आ चुकी है।…

[cinemaminidiso]

Padmavat

(25th January, 2018)

Based on Malik Muhammad Jaisi’s popular premakhyan of the same name, this movie generated considerable controversy for its portrayal of the past. A number of Rajput groups protested against the way the ‘relationship’ between the (possibly fictitious) queen Padmavati and the Khilji ruler Alauddin Khilji was shown, while several historians have pointed out how Jaisi’s premakhyan was a work of fiction, (as pointed out by Jaisi himself in his epic-poem) with some historical elements in it. Irrespective of the historicity of the Jaisi’s work, whose  numerous versions exist, the film was successful in creating an enduring image of a good, pious and valourous Hindu ruler fighting against a villainous, barbaric and hedonic Muslim ruler in medieval India, disregarding the complexities of historical characters and numerous other factors at play when it came to historical conflicts.

History Society

(Debanjan Das & Anushka Roy)

[belowdbelt-blog]

Padmavati vs karni sena | Chai with chogle - Padmavati Trailer | Below The Belt

[myviewsmydrishti-blog]

‘Padmavat’ movie stirred national controversy.Click here to discover more!!!

For more: https://myviewsmydrishti.com/2018/07/padmavati-film-perfect-recipe-for-national-crisis.html

[newstfionline]

A Film Has Inflamed Indians. But Moviegoers Mostly Say It’s Fine.

By Jeffrey Gettleman, Kai Schultz And Suhasini Raj, NY Times, Jan. 25, 2018

JAIPUR, India--After months of controversy, weeks of threats and days of fiery protests, a contentious new Bollywood film hit the theaters in India on Thursday, and the reaction was:

What’s the big deal?

Moviegoers streamed out of heavily guarded movie theaters saying they liked the sets, the music and the grand Bollywood style of “Padmaavat,” a lavish saga about a legendary Hindu queen who may never have existed. But they couldn’t understand why so many people had violently objected to it.

“It’s silly, it’s sad, it’s ironic because actually the movie presented the Rajputs in a very good light,” said Preeti Sharma, who saw the film with her husband in New Delhi on Thursday afternoon.

The Rajputs, historically a caste of warriors, have been the ones most offended by the movie; Rajput activists said the movie was historically inaccurate and disrespectful. Hundreds of Rajput women even threatened to kill themselves over it (their elders eventually talked them down).

On Thursday, protests erupted in different cities in India, with some tire-burning and stone-throwing, but nothing major. It seems that Rajput activists may have won this battle because their campaign of threats and intimidation succeeded in terrifying many cinema owners.

In several states in northern India, which have large Rajput populations, no major cinemas dared to show the film.

The controversy goes back to the 14th century--or 16th century, depending on who you ask. In 1540, the Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote the epic “Padmavat” about a Hindu queen, Padmavati, so beautiful that a Muslim ruler besieges her entire kingdom to have her. Instead of submitting, Padmavati kills herself.

The story was set in a Rajput kingdom in Rajasthan, in northwestern India, around 1302. But whether Padmavati actually existed is a big question.

Scholars who have studied that era say they have found historical references to the Muslim ruler and the Hindu king in Jayasi’s epic--but no mention of Padmavati or a queen so beautiful that her looks started a war.

That hasn’t stopped Rajput and Hindu extremists from turning “Padmaavat” into a rallying cry. Without even seeing the film, several Rajput activists complained that Padmavati’s clothes were too skimpy; a dream sequence between her and the Muslim invader was inappropriate; and the heroism of their revered queen had been cheapened.

They attacked the crew of the film while it was in production and offered a bounty to behead the lead actress and director. They also threatened to cut off the actress’s nose.

For weeks, anxiety over the film and a debate on artistic license has dominated Indian headlines and put the public on edge. Police officials around the country have been busing in reinforcements, and on Thursday, many cinemas were ringed by packs of officers wielding long wooden sticks, just in case there was trouble.

Several schools closed on Thursday as a precaution. The day before, an angry mob of “Padmaavat” protesters, one of many across northern India, stoned a school bus full of children near New Delhi. No one was seriously hurt but video of the episode went viral, adding to the fears.

On Thursday, the worst movie-related violence seemed to have erupted in Bihar, a poor state in northern India, where bands of angry young men attacked a theater, tore up posters and vandalized vehicles.

Indian film critics weren’t much kinder. One called it “so superficial” and a “slog,” giving it two stars out of five.

Still, “Padmaavat” had “taken an excellent opening,” according to a website that tracks box-office sales.

In fact, in some places, the controversy might have even helped it gain an audience.

“I was curious to see the movie because it was making lots of noise,” said K. C. Sharma, a retired army officer, who saw the movie at a theater in a shopping mall near New Delhi.

He said he didn’t find anything offensive and that “all those people objecting to the film should see it.”

[katiemcgrath]

that footage from padmavati is from the trailer. except now it’s called padmavat to really hammer home the fact that it’s based on a poem and not the real person lol

Ooft, all that from the trailer! Yeah, I read that! How insane this film has become. I really hope it’s worth all the controversy. It kind of has to be now. 

[loyallogic]

What do the Media and Entertainment Lawyers do?

This article is written by Yavanika Shah, Team LawSikho.

“The Bombay High Court declined to grant any interim relief to Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor over an FIR filed against them and other film personalities for using “obscene” and “abusive” language during a comedy event ‘AIB Knockout’ in 2015.”

“India’s Supreme Court has cleared the release of controversial Bollywood film Padmavat and overturned the decision by four states to ban its screening. It has been approved by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), but Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana imposed a ban.”

“The Haryana police arrested actor-comedian Kiku Sharda from Mumbai and brought him to Kaithal for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by mimicking Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.”

These are some of the headlines we all must have read.

AIB Roast. The Padmavat ban. Kiku Sharda’s Mimicry that led him to jail. These are just a handful of examples that show a huge relationship between the media and entertainment industry and, well, the judiciary.

The Media and Entertainment industry is always subjected to the highest scrutiny owing to being in the public eye the most. Amidst the glitz and glamour that we as the audience get to see in the media and entertainment industry, there is always something or the other in terms of legality going around creating a huge buzz.

Have you noticed DSK Legal’s name in the beginning titles of Salman Khan films? They also led the team to make Delhi HC dismiss the plea to stay the release of ‘Bharat’.

The firm has also been responsible for structuring a finance-cum-distribution deal with PVR for Aamir Khan. They have also structured the co-production between Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Sony Pictures for the movie Saawariya. Back then, it was one of the very first times that a major foreign company was co-producing a movie in India and it was absolutely important that the rights to exploitation of the film were negotiated well.

This is the biggest reason why the IP, Media, and Entertainment industry has emerged as a very important recruiter of lawyers and IP professionals!

Have you noticed Intellectual property is frequently monetized through a variety of contracts in different industries?

Some of them have their own set of commercial jargon, based on the commercial intent behind the transaction. Knowing what the jargon means and then learning how to draft such contracts effectively crucial to building a career in this area. Plenty of sample contracts and drafting exercises are included.

If reading about the above-mentioned activities excites you, media and entertainment law is your calling. Go through our list of the best media law firms in India here.

We list down the kind of work media and entertainment lawyers do. Do let us know by commenting below if you think we missed any. So here goes:

#1 Motion Pictures and Television

Television disputes include Title Rights in TV Serials, disputes on obscene content, disputes on format rights and John Doe orders. Lawyers specializing in the field are required to act as commercial-legal production counsels for advising, structuring and negotiating deals across various production and distribution models, for syndication and licensing of content for domestic and international film distribution across platforms (traditional and new media) in established and emerging markets.

We are yet just scratching the surface. There is a lot to be done in the field. Also, this space has become highly litigious given tons of complaints, objections to movies and specific scenes, etc has become a routine. As a result, lawyers who can handle IP, media, and entertainment law are in very high demand.

#2 Music and music celebrity management

Advice and negotiation relating to music contracts which includes licensing and distribution of music content, including films, through various physical media and digital platforms has become an area that is making use of plethora of lawyers. Often, there are also advice required by the Indian producers on the engagement of international music artists for their live performances and other professional engagements in India.

#3 Mergers and acquisitions

Lawyers are required regularly for advising advertising companies on the sale of their businesses to a global multinational. Advising acquirers on acquisitions of advertising agencies and public relations companies is also an area of practice that a media and entertainment lawyers get to utilize their expertise in.

India’s sports-broadcasting sector saw in 2016 Zee Group’s Ten Sports bouquet of sports channels being bought by Sony Pictures Networks India for a reported sum of Rs 2,600 crore.

#4 Internet and Digital media

With the popularity of digital media and the internet by apps like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, the privacy policies for using them have come under huge scrutiny. Lawyers are regularly hired to draft end user license agreements and terms of services for digital media businesses.  

#5 IP Rights Management and monetization

Licensing and sale of IP were strategies developed and initially used by large companies.

According to IP expert James E. Malachowski in From Assets to Profits: Competing for IP Value & Return, current efficient IP portfolio management strategies will:

Limit internal prosecution to innovation that can be most cost-effective and deployed rapidly internally

Acquire those assets that are most efficiently deployed by others

Sell or otherwise eliminate IP not relevant to current management strategies, reallocating these resources and rebalancing the portfolio.

To learn more about how you can perform real work for clients from the media and entertainment industry, you can explore the Diploma in Intellectual Property, Media and entertainment laws. You will have an opportunity to attend 1 online live class per week (after work hours – you can watch a recording if you cannot attend the live session and ask your doubts later), perform 2 simulation exercises and receive in-line feedback on your drafts, access online study materials (along with hard copies despatched to your address), doubt clearance within 24 hours and a lot of other benefits that you can find on the course page with details.

Click Above

Here are a few of the weekly exercises you will get to undertake in the course. You can go through the entire list here.

Advice on the creation of a copyright portfolio and copyright strategy for business names, products, and services

How to register and claim copyright on every product

Exercise on dealing with copyright societies for events, concerts, and performances

Draft a software test and evaluation agreement

Draft a Software Development Agreement

Draft a Music License agreement

Draft a Work Made For Hire Agreement

Draft a Research and Development Agreement

Issue a Takedown Notice for Copyright Infringement online

Draft a Terms of Use / Terms of Service

Draft a Franchisee Agreement

Exercise on defenses against trademark litigation

Exercise on issuing a legal notice for trademark infringement

Exercise on response to legal notice for trademark infringement

If you are still confused about how to go ahead with a career in the media and entertainment laws, download our free course material on Diploma in Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Laws here. You can also check out the list of things that you can do as a media and entertainment lawyer on the course page.

Give us a call at 011-4084-5203 or comment below for a free career counseling session.

You can also check out the below-mentioned course for which the enrolment is open now:

DIPLOMA

Diploma in M&A, Institutional Finance and Investment Laws (PE and VC transactions)

Diploma in Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Laws

Diploma in Companies Act, Corporate Governance and SEBI Regulations

Diploma in Business Laws for In-House Counsels

EXECUTIVE CERTIFICATE COURSES

Certificate Course in Legal Practice Development and Management

Certificate Course in Real Estate Laws

Certificate Course in Advanced Criminal Litigation & Trial Advocacy

Certificate Course in Media and Entertainment Law: Contracts, Licensing and Regulations

LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join:

https://t.me/joinchat/J_0YrBa4IBSHdpuTfQO_sA

Follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more amazing legal content.

  The post What do the Media and Entertainment Lawyers do? appeared first on iPleaders.

What do the Media and Entertainment Lawyers do? published first on https://namechangers.tumblr.com/

[shirlleycoyle]

India’s Best TV Shows Have Emerged From Uncensored Streaming Platforms

A few months ago there was a whisper through the brown girl network. I got texts, DMs, and Snapchats, and they all asked the same thing: have you seen Made in Heaven? Have you seen Four More Shots? In the South Asian diaspora, news travels quickly, and these shows—both on Amazon Prime—were the latest.

When I watched them—a few hours at a time, often late into the night—I immediately understood the significance. Handfuls of other Indian dramas on streaming platforms released in the past two years, are not Bollywood, nor are they the Hindi serials on my aunties’ television sets. Their ability to show the genitalia of a transgender woman, surveillance of a gay man by his oppressed neighbor, or a pseudo-woke groom demanding dowry of his bride at the altar is a reality that had, for many years, remained on the cutting room floor because of the Central Board of Film Certification, an Indian government authority which censors media with a conservative lens.

Now, since streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon (as well as homegrown platforms like Hotstar) remain outside of the central board’s regulatory grasp, they are capitalizing on their ability to remain out of the censor board’s reach in a way that allows creators to remain true to their story. In order to circumvent the heavy hand of censorship, some platforms, such as Netflix and Hotstar, have pledged to self censor based on their own interpretation of the law, while others, such as Amazon, are following their own rules.

“We are as compliant with the laws of the land as we are required to be,” said Vijay Subramaniam, director and head of content for Amazon Prime Video in India. “At the same time, we have an internal code. It is important to be authentic, allowing our creators to think unconstrained.”

Made in Heaven, based off the trope of the complex Indian wedding in Delhi’s high society, deftly navigates patriarchy, homophobia, and the caste system with a tenor somewhere between Gossip Girl and HBO’s Divorce. Four More Shots, meanwhile, was described to me as a brown Sex and the City. But with gut-wrenching scenes of a mother separated from her kid, or a bisexual Punjabi woman having a behind-doors relationship with a movie star. is far closer to the reality of a middle class Indian woman eeking out an existance in Mumbai.

“These girls had to be real, had to bleed, had to have flaws and yet had to rise above it all to be their own little un-superheroes,” said Rangita Pritish Nandy, the showrunner and creator of Four More Shots, who also grew up in Mumbai. “Amazon let us tell their story honestly, without being prudish and puritanical.”

The comparison is even more stark if you watch the Bollywood movies that have attempted to tackle similar topics. Earlier this year, established Bollywood producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra, debuted Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (translation: I looked at a girl and felt something), the story of a girl, also in Punjab, who tries to come out to her family. Throughout the course of the two hour film, however, the main character, Sweety, and her girlfriend, Kuhu, never kiss, nor does anyone say anything outright about sexual identity except for a quirky playwright who tries to use his script as a tool to teach her family about equality, likely to avoid censorship.

It’s not necessarily Bollywood’s fault that its storylines remain far removed from the conversations happening in actual Indian society. The censorship board most recently threatened the release of the epic story Padmavat because some Hindu sensibilities were offended by the Muslim character trying to steal away a Rajput queen. The board also repeatedly refused to allow the release of Gulabi Aaina, an award-winning film about transsexuals in India, that is now (after 14 years) on Netflix in India and otherwise. Recently, a censorship board member also attacked Karan Johar, a gay entertainment personality and movie maker, with a weird, now removed tweet about him having sex with his mother.

Some of this censorship has been reined in after India’s Supreme Court struck down Section 377, a British-era law that criminalized homosexuality, last September. But the censorship board, and other conservative voices, can still rely on draconian laws such as Section 292, which bans imagery that is deemed overtly sexual or lascivious, if they want to crack down.

Even with the advent of streaming platforms attempting to win over the Indian market, creators are often careful. “We self censor. It’s not like we don’t show kissing—we swear in the show, but we won’t write a story that’s explicitly sexual or raunchy.” said Ashwin Suresh, founder of Dice Media, Pocket Aces, and the creator of the Netflix show, Little Things, about a young unmarried couple navigating work and social life in Mumbai.

While shows like Netflix’s Sacred Games, about the Mumbai underworld, and Made in Heaven, might not shy away from nudity and explicit violence or sexuality, the creators of Little Things took the route of sitcoms like Friends, employing a mix of comedy and quirk factor. And Suresh, whose shows first became popular on YouTube, said that while he supports the lack of censorship on platforms like Netflix and Amazon, he also tries not to stir up controversy in his shows. “Indian culture is wired not to change. I expect to see some censorship,” he said.

This might seem overly cautious, but Indian censorship can influence global companies as well, even if there’s no clear and consistent way of cracking down on them. Last year Amazon pulled a number of products from its marketplace in India when they were deemed offensive. And it’s not absurd to think that companies like Netflix trying hard to court and profit from the massive, young population in India will end up following any rules that allow it to keep its foothold in the country.

Actors Mithila Phadke and Dhruv Sehgal behind the scenes of Little Things. Image: courtesy Pocket Aces

Ironically, though, it’s the India-based online streaming platforms run by media groups like Star and Zee that are taking the most risks, and critics say it’s not always for the sake of quality. “There’s a lot of exploitation, because there’s no censorship,” said Maanvi Gagroo, an actress who plays the leading role of Siddhi Patel on Four More Shots, in addition to starring on the YouTube series, Tripling. “They put in an intimate scene because they can, even if its not part of the narrative.” Other creators and actors also described these homegrown streamed shows to me as soft porn, or unnecessarily provocative.

Even with some platforms peddling cheap thrills, the massive shift in progressive storytelling has pushed the entire industry one step forward, even on an individual level. “We’re used to watching a lot of intimate scenes but I had personally never done that as an actor,” said Gagroo, whose character Siddhi starts as a virgin dabbling in an online dominatrix persona on Four More Shots. “But my director told me this show would end up liberating me as a person. And it did happen.”

For Nandy, who created the show based on her own life and those of her friends, the important this is to continue making shows that don’t shy away from the grit and complexity of Indian life, especially for women. “The truth is that Amazon just told us to make a great show, they didn’t stick us with any shackles and therefore every track, character,” she said. “And the storyline was not only special but also challenging because we had zero excuses—we had to crack a sticky, genuine and memorable show.”

And for the millions of Indians in and outside the country, it is both a thing of intrigue and relief that the stories we know to be true are no longer diluted by bureaucracy, allowing the evolution of culture, politics and society to live both on screen, and off.

India’s Best TV Shows Have Emerged From Uncensored Streaming Platforms syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[ashokkothapalli]

Controversial Padmavat Release Today (25)

వివాదాల పద్���ావత్ విడుదల నేడే (25)

దేశ వ్యాప్తంగా కొన్ని నెలలుగా వివాదాలకు కారణమైన  పద్మావత్ (25)న విడుదలకు రంగం  సిద్దమైంది. సంజయ్ లీలా బన్సాలీ దర్శకత్వంలో రూపొందిన ఈ చిత్రం షూటింగ్ మొదలైనప్పటి నాటి నుంచే పలు వివాదాలకు కారణమైంది. ఈ మూవీ విడుదల సందర్భంగా దేశవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రధాన నగరాల్లో భద్రతను కట్టుదిట్టం చేశారు. పలు సినిమా హాళ్లు, మల్టీ ఫ్లెక్స్ ల వద్ద భద్రత కోసం భారీగా పోలీసులను , మొహరించారు. ఉత్తర భారత దేశంలోని దాదాపుగా  అన్ని ప్రధాన నగరాల్లో భారీగా భధ్రతా బలగాలను ముందు జాగ్రత్తగా పిలిపించారు. మధ్యప్రదేశ్ , రాజస్ధాన్ రాష్ట్రాలు పద్మావత్ విడుదలకు ససేమిరా అంటూ సుప్రీంకోర్టును ఆశ్రయించినా ఫలితం లేకుండా పోయింది. సెన్సార్ బోర్డు అనుమతించినందున సదరు సినిమా ప్రదర్శనకు  భద్రత కల్పించాల్సిన  బాధ్యత ఆయా రాష్ట్రాలదేనని సుప్రీంకోర్టు మంగళ వారం కుండబద్ధలు కొట్టిన సంగతి విదితమే. మహారాష్ట్రలోని కీలక నగరాలు, పట్టణాల్లోని  సున్నిత ప్రాంతాల్లో  ముందు జాగ్రత్తగా పోలీసులను అప్రమత్తం చేశామని  కీలక పోలీసు అధికారి తెలిపారు. ముంబైలో దాదాపుగా వం�� మంది నిరసన కారులను పోలీసులు అదుపులోకి తీసుకున్నారు. కాగా గుజరాత్ లో ముందు  జాగ్రత్తగా  వంద మందిని అదుపులోకి తీసుకున్నారు. ఇక హర్యానాలోని గురుగ్రామ్ లో  ఈ సాయంత్రం 7 గంటలనుంచి క్లబ్ , బార్లను మూసి వేయించారు. పద్మావత్ విడుదలకు నిరసనగా రోడ్డు రవాణా సంస్ధకు చెందిన ఓ బస్సును దగ్ధం చేశారు. ఈ ఆందోళనలు రాజధాని ఢిల్లీకి తాకాయి. పద్మావత్ చిత్రాన్ని ప్రదర్శించే  సివిల్ లైన్స్ లోని పివిఎస్ మాల్ కు పోలీసులు భద్రతను సమకూర్చారు . ఇక రాజ్ పుట్ లు ఎక్కువగా వుండే రాజస్ధాన్ లో పరిస్ధితిని హోంమంత్రి గులాబ్ చంద్ కటారియా ఎప్పటికప్పుడు సమీక్షిస్తున్నారు. చాలా సినిమా హాళ్లలో పద్మావత్ చిత్రాన్ని ప్రదర్శించటానికి సాహాసించటం లేదు. కాగా నిరసన కారులు చట్ట పరిధిలో ఆందోళన చేయటానికి అనుమతిస్తామని కటారియా చెప్పుకొచ్చారు. ఇదిలా వుంటే ఉత్తరప్రదేశ్ లో పద్మావత్ చిత్రాన్ని ప్రదర్శించటానికి సర్కార్ సహకరిస్తుందనిక్యాబినెట్ మంత్రి సిద్ధార్దనాధ్ సింగ్ తెలిపారు . ఎవరైనా పద్మావత్ చిత్రాన్నిఅడ్డుకుంటే చట్ట ప్రకారం చర్యలు తప్పవని ఆయన హెచ్చరించారు.

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[juudgeblog]

Bollywood’s Top Five Court Battles

This article is written by Mohona Thakur, Team iPleaders.

Bollywood is quite often than not ‘inspired’ by Hollywood as well as South Indian movies and songs alike. Let me give you an example. Remember Gauri Shinde’s coming of age drama, Dear Zindagi, starring Alia Bhat and Shah Rukh Khan? It turns out that it is said be inspired by a Canadian comedy-drama TV series called ‘Being Erica’. Was there any case filed against the producers of this film? No.

Do all disputes in Bollywood arise due to plagiarism? To a certain extent, but not entirely.

Plagiarism or as the writers would prefer calling it, ‘inspiration’ is one of the most rampant legal troubles that Bollywood is in the habit of facing in the recent times. Besides this, not only do they face suits from Hollywood for deceptively similar film titles (like in the case of Hari Puttar) but also closer home from the infamous censor board (such as Udta Punjab) and the very citizens of India (read Padmavat).

Indian cinema has no scarcity of films that may have courted a major controversy or in some cases faced a complete ban and were never released in the country. A number of films such as Mira Nair’s Kamasutra: The Tale of Love never released in India; Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday which was based on the 1993 Mumbai blasts had to wait for three years before it could release as the Bombay High Court directed it to be released only after the trial was over.

Can you imagine the gravity of loss of business for the producers? This is one of the many reasons Bollywood production houses are in need of outstanding media lawyers who not only understand the law but also the needs of the business.

Let us take a look at a few of the Bollywood films that got into legal trouble and how they went about it:

Padmavat (2018)

It is the latest film to court controversy in India. Certain groups of the right wing felt that the movie misrepresents history and tarnishes the reputation of certain lawyers. There were death threats to both the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and the lead actress, Deepika Padukone. States such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana had disallowed screening of the movie, even as it awaited the certificate from the certificate board.

The film was on the other hand not getting the required clearances from the Certificate Board. The apparent reason for the same was an incomplete application submitted by the filmmakers and the 68-day rule (one must submit the application to the film certification board at least 68 days before the release date).

Eventually, Viacom 18 through their firm, Naik Naik & Co., approached the Supreme Court against the notification of the above-mentioned states seeking stay of the same and permitting the release of the movie across India. The bench constituting the Chief Justice of India heard the matter and put a stay on notifications issued by the states. You can read more about the arguments advanced in this matter here.

Udta Punjab (2016)

The controversy surrounding the release of the Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhat starrer Udta Punjab has been one of the longest that Bollywood has possibly seen. With the initial jolt coming in from the Certificate Board (CBFC) suggesting cuts across 13 categories to the protests across northern India and subsequently the batch of petitions filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging that the movie shows Punjab in bad light and promotes usage of drugs, Udta Punjab fought a long drawn battle.

The courts in India finally drew a close to the long controversy surrounding the release of the movie having decided that it does not contain anything objectionable in the film.

The Bombay High Court also ruled in favour, after an amicus curiae appointed by the Court watched the movie in the presence of the CBFC officials and producers of the film. The producers of the film, Phantom, through their lawyers Naik Naik & Co. approached the Bombay High Court against the CBFC and its habit of acting more like a censor board than a certificate board. The division bench of the Bombay High Court allowed 1 cut and also slammed the Board for imposing cuts mindlessly.

Knockout (2010)

Twentieth Century Fox filed a case of copyright infringement against the makers of the movie Knockout claiming that it was a complete rip-off of their movie named ‘Phone Booth’. If you watch both the movies, you’d realise that the movies revolve around the same plot – a hostage in a phone booth having a conversation with the sniper and intervened by intruders during the conversation.

While the single bench stayed the release of the movie, the division bench reversed the stay order. Eventually, the parties came to an out of court settlement and Sohail Maklai, the producer of Knockout paid Fox an amount of 1.25 Crore.

This isn’t a one off case where inspiration went a notch up too high and took a turn towards infringement. In 2009, Twentieth Century Fox had filed a suit against BR Films for the movie ‘Banda Yeh Bindass Hai’ claiming that it was the copy of their film ‘My Cousin Vinny’. The case was settled out of court and BR Films had to pay up 1.3 Crores for it.

There are a number of other movies such as Partner, which was allegedly a copy of the Hollywood movie Hitch, Bang Bang which was clearly the Indian version of Knight and Day.

How does one decide whether it is an inspiration or an original work under the Copyright Act? I believe deep understanding of copyright law through various sources including reading up the law, case laws and engaging in courses on intellectual property and media laws shall be helpful.

Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors (2008)

Warner Bros. which owns the rights to the Harry Potter franchise had filed a case against the movie Hari Puttar claiming that the title to the movie was too similar to the title of the well-known Harry Potter franchise. The case was filed by Warner Bros. in the Delhi High Court a month before the release of the movie in question.

Justice Khetrapal in his 26 page judgment very clearly enunciated that Warner Bros. sat over its rights for three years before they filed the case in 2008. The fact that the movie was going to be titled ‘Hari Puttar’ was in their knowledge since 2005 and they chose to only file a suit for injunction when the movie in question was about to reach the finishing line.

For those of you who do not know, it is a well-established principle that if the plaintiffs stood by knowingly and let the defendants build up their business or venture, then the plaintiffs would be estopped by their rights to claim equitable relief. This three year long unjustified waiting period is what caused Warner Bros. a favourable judgment!

Phir Se (2015)

Kunal Kohli’s movie Phir Se was stuck in a long legal battle for having lifted the script and story off an underproduction movie titled R.S.V.P. The writer Jyoti Kapoor and production house India Stories Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. dragged Kohli to the court.

The Supreme Court, not completely convinced by the arguments advanced by Adv. Amit Sibal and Sr. Adv. Shyam Diwan for the production house and writer, allowed the movie to be released on the scheduled date. This was subject to the condition that Kunal Kohli pay a total compensation of Rs. 60 Lakhs and give due credit to the writer.

This case was seen as a huge win for the writers in the film industry as this acted as a sign that the screenwriters are very vigilant about their rights and are not scared of standing up and fighting against producers and directors at the risk of losing future assignments.

If you take a quick look at the court cases and litigation involving media and production houses, whether they are certification board issues, petitions filed by NGOs, etc., copyright infringements with respect to movies or songs, trademark infringement of movie titles, or plagiarism, you will notice that there is a rampant increase in them.

In the quest for finding not only good content, but content that will sell and make the production houses profitable, a lot of lines are unknowingly or knowingly crossed. With the increase in such litigation, it is best for not only the lawyers to be well-versed in media related laws and litigation but it is also necessary for the film fraternity to have knowledge about media and entertainment laws.

If you work for a media house or ad agency, consider sending someone from your legal as well as creative team for this media law course. If you are a media lawyer interested in this sort of work, or someone planning to get into the media and entertainment law business as a lawyer, do check this course out.

The post Bollywood’s Top Five Court Battles appeared first on iPleaders.

Bollywood’s Top Five Court Battles syndicated from https://namechangersmumbai.wordpress.com/

[myviewsmydrishti-blog]

Different opinionated views from various sections of audience on release of 'Padmaavat' movie.