Shahid
Kapoor and Triptii Dimri's O'Romeo landed in legal trouble after Hussain Ustara's daughter, Sanober Shaikh, objected to the film's release. Sanober had filed an interim plea against Sajid Nadiadwala's Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Vishal Bhardwaj, and other associated to the project. A week ahead of the movie's release, a civil court in Mumbai has dismissed her interim plea. On February 6, the Mumbai civil court refused to stay O'Romeo's theatrical release, scheduled for February 13. Sanober had earlier alleged that the film is a biopic inspired by her father's life.
Mumbai court refuses to stall O'Romeo's release
Sanober, daughter of Hussain Ustara, previously claimed that the makers of
O'Romeo misappropriated her father's persona and defamed him without consent. According to
Bar and Bench, Shaikh had moved the court, seeking a halt on the film's release until her suit was heard. She had even demanded a pre-screening of the movie.
Besides that, Ustara's daughter alleged that the movie would violate personality, privacy, and reputational rights of her father and their family. Shaikh also claimed that Vishal's gangster drama was based on the life of her father, as portrayed in the book
Mafia: Queens of Mumbai. However, the director, in an affidavit filed on February 6, mentioned that Shaikh's suit was 'false, frivolous, misconceived vexatious'."The instant suit filed by the plaintiff is nothing but a coercive tactic so as to exert pressure on the owners of the film to extract a financial settlement at the eleventh hour before the release of the film," the filmmaker claimed, as per
Bar and Bench. The
O'Romeo director also pointed out Ustara's daughter had sent multiple legal notices and demanded Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore, alleging violation of personality and privacy rights. According to Bhardwaj, Sanober's moves reflected that she considered monetary compensation as a remedy.
Vishal Bhardwaj's clarifies O'Romeo is not a biopic
The report further suggests that Bhardwaj clarified that his movie, featuring
Shahid and Triptii, is not a biopic. He added the gangster drama is a work of fiction, inspired by themes from
Mafia: Queens of Mumbai. The filmmaker even mentioned that his project is supported by a disclaimer that any sort of resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. That said,
O'Romeo can be released in theatres as the interim plea has been dismissed while the suit continues before the court.
More about O'Romeo
Apart from Shahid and Triptii, the star cast of
O'Romeo includes Vikrant Massey, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Disha Patani. Veteran actors Fairda Jalal and Nana Patekar are also an integral part of the gangster drama.
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