Petitioners fined Rs 5 lakh for dragging ‘Phillauri’ to court
Makers of Gujarati film ‘Mangal Fera’ were humbled when the approached the Bombay High Court claiming that Anushka Sharma starrer ‘Phillauri’, which hit screens today, was a copy of their film. The High Court had instead imposed a fine of Rs. 5 lakh on Gyatri Cine Productions, producers of ‘Mangal Fera’, for wasting precious time of court.
According to a report in India Today, Gayatri Cine Production’s representatives Gayatri and Dashrath Rathod had filed the petition at the Bombay High Court on Saturday (March 18), requesting the court to serve a notice to ‘Phillauri’ producers Fox Star Studios and Anushka and her brother Karnesh Sharma’s company Clean Slate Films, for allegedly copying the script of their film. They also mentioned film’s writer Anvita Dutt Guptan in the petition.
“Justice GS Patel said that we cannot move the court when the film is so close to releasing. He did not just dismiss the case but also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh for wasting the time of the court,” the report quoted Advocate Nagesh Mishra, who was representing the petitioners.
‘Mangal Fera’ was first made in Gujarati and then in Bhojpuri and Bengali. The plot of the film, according to the petitioners, revolves around a woman who is manglik, but in ‘Phillauri’, the plot revolves around a young man who is haunted by a friendly spirit after he reluctantly marries a tree to ward off any threat to his love life.
The petitioners had first sent a legal notice to ‘Phillauri’ makers, who replied that the film is based on the tradition of women getting married to a tree. However, not satisfied with the reply, the ‘Mangal Fera’ makers decided to drag the ‘Phillauri’ makers to court under copyright infringement Act.
Directed by Anshai Lal, ‘Phillauri’ also stars Diljit Dosanjh, Suraj Sharma and Mehreen Pirzada.
