The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the producers of the film Doosra to arrange a screening of the film for the Court after former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly filed a plea alleging violation of his personality rights.
Justice Vinod Kumar said that watching the film would be important to understand whether Ganguly's personality rights have been violated as claimed by him.
The Court also issued summons to the directors and producers of the film and asked them to file their replies to Ganguly's injunction application.
Though the counsel appearing for Ganguly made an oral request to stop the release of the film on over-the-top (OTT) platforms, the Court rejected the request.
Justice Kumar said that the injunction application will be decided after considering the defendants' response.
Notably, the film released in the theatres today.
On October 22, the High Court had refused to stay the theatrical release of the movie.
Ganguly and film production house Luv Films LLP have approached the High Court seeking to restrain the release of the film citing exploitation of the former's life events, particularly his captaincy in the NatWest cricket series final and his shirtless celebration at Lord's.
They have alleged unauthorised commercial exploitation of Ganguly’s personality rights and infringement of the production house’s exclusive contractual rights over his proposed biopic.
Ganguly and Luv Films have sought an injunction against the film’s theatrical, digital and other releases, as well as the circulation of promotional material allegedly using Ganguly’s name, image, likeness and iconic cricketing moments without authorisation.
According to the suit, Ganguly entered into an agreement with Luv Films on August 5, 2021, granting the production house exclusive rights to develop, produce and commercially exploit audiovisual content, including a biographical film based on his life and cricketing career.
The suit states that Luv Films has made substantial investments in the authorised biopic titled Dada – The Sourav Ganguly Story, which is scheduled for release on May 14, 2027.
It adds that the trailer and promotional campaign for Doosra, launched on October 12, prominently refer to Ganguly’s leadership of the Indian cricket team and its historic victory in the 2002 NatWest cricket series final at Lord’s. This includes his shirtless celebration on the Lord’s balcony.
They contend that these references are being used to generate commercial interests by capitalising on Ganguly’s identity and reputation, potentially creating an impression that he is associated with or has endorsed the film.
The suit also cites an October 13 interview in which Doosra director Abhinay Deo discussed how the 2002 NatWest final and milestones in Ganguly’s career influenced the film’s fictional character, Tara.