Dhurandhar 2 OTT Release Gets MAJOR Relief, Court Rejects Script Plagiarism Plea Against Aditya Dhar

Dhurandhar:

The Revenge, aka Dhurandhar 2, is making headlines beyond its box office success. The film recently became the subject of a legal dispute after filmmaker Santosh Kumar alleged that its script was copied from his work. Seeking to stop the film's digital release, he approached the Mumbai civil court for an interim stay. However, the court declined the request, clearing the way for the film's OTT premiere. The court, in its observations, cited multiple reasons for dismissing the petition. Check out what the court said and what the verdict means for Aditya Dhar's blockbuster sequel.

Dhurandhar 2 OTT release cleared

Director Aditya Dhar has received legal relief after a Mumbai civil court refused to stay the OTT release of Dhurandhar 2, starringRanveer Singh amid allegations that the film was based on a copied script. Filmmaker Santosh Kumar had approached the court seeking an ad-interim injunction against the film's digital release, alleging that elements of his original script had been used in the sequel. However, the court declined to grant interim relief, allowing the film's OTT rollout to proceed as scheduled.According to the court's order dated June 4, Kumar had earlier filed a similar plea before the Karnataka High Court. While the High Court dismissed the petition and gave him the freedom to seek appropriate remedies in the appropriate court, the Mumbai court noted that this issue was not raised in the present case. Commenting on the omission, the court observed, “But that fact was not disclosed by the plaintiff, that will prima facie show that he has not come with clean hands.”

Mumbai court cites absence of supporting evidence

The court also considered the defence's argument that Kumar had sought directions against an OTT platform without making any streaming service a party to the suit. Furthermore, it is noted that no comparative material has been presented to demonstrate the similarity between the plaintiff's screenplay and the film. “From the plaint and documents, no such comparison was produced by the plaintiff to show the similarity of script and dialogues and unless and until that is verified, the relief of injunction and appointment of the Court Commissioner cannot be granted,” the order stated.

Rejecting the plea, the court held that granting an interim stay would cause greater harm to the defendants, especially as rights related to the film had already been created in favour of third parties. “Hence, if ad interim relief is granted in favour of plaintiff, it will cause irreparable loss to the defendants. If the plaintiff succeeds in the suit, he can claim compensation; hence no irreparable loss would be caused to him,” the court said.Meanwhile, following the ruling, Dhurandhar 2 starring Ranveer Singh premiered on OTT on June 4 and is currently streaming on JioHotstar.