The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to pass any order on a plea by former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly’s plea to stay the release of the film “Doosra”.
Justice Dinesh Bhatt said the case will be heard tomorrow (Thursday).
The movie is scheduled to be released in theatres tomorrow.
Justice Bhatt made it clear that he has not stopped the release of the film in theatres.
"I have said no stay, so the film can go on," Justice Bhatt said.
Ganguly and film production house Luv Films LLP have approached the Delhi High Court seeking to restrain the release of the film citing exploitation of the former's live 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 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 interest 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.
Ganguly's counsel told the Court that the movie is a violation of his personality rights and no license was taken from the former cricketer for the movie.
The counsel stated that Ganguly is a "pseudo hero" for the film and almost a third of the trailer is Ganguly footage.
It was also stated that the director of the movie referred to Ganguly in an interview.
However, the counsel appearing for the movie makers said that it is not a biopic on Ganguly.
The Court was told that the story is of a girl from Rajasthan who draws inspiration from Ganguly.
The counsel added that a licence for use of footage of NatWest series was taken from Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and that the player [Ganguly] has no right over such footage.
The suit by Ganguly and Luv Films was filed through advocates Jaya Goyal and Manpreet Kaur of Neo Juris.
Senior Advocate Balbir Singh with advocates Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia, Megha Chandra, Dhruv Anand, Sakshi Dube, Unnati Gambani and Khushi Agarwal appeared for defendant Masjda Sajeh.
Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal with advocates Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia, Sanjeevi Seshadri, Dhruv Anand, Sakshi Dube, Unnati Gambani and Khushi Agarwal represented the director and the producer of the film.