‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, ‘Bombay Begums’ and other Bollywood films, shows in legal trouble

Even as cinemas open and the biggies gear up for release and streaming platforms spreads its base, a host of new legal woes have emerged for various film and web series makers.

The latest to face the fire is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, starring Alia Bhatt, which is on the receiving end of a criminal defamation case. Trade analyst Komal Nahta says that such cases just add to the publicity of a project. “Such stories and reports just increase the talk around the film. In fact, more awareness is created about the film. There is no one who doesn’t go to watch a film because of this. In fact, footfalls can increase because of this. It all depends on how big a controversy is,” he said.

Bhansali is no stranger to controversies. His last release ‘Padmaavat’ faced legal problems before release in 2018. However, the Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone starrer went on to become a huge hit. Here are some of the projects that are embroiled in legal controversies lately:

Jhund: Hyderabad-based filmmaker Nandi Chinni Kumar has accused the makers of ‘Jhund’ of copyright infringement. However, the makers of have denied the allegation. Kumar claimed he had bought the rights in November 2017 for his film titled ‘Slum Soccer’, which was based on the life of slum soccer player Akhilesh Paul, the Indian captain at the Homeless World Cup. The story of ‘Jhund’ is based on Paul’s coach Vijay Barse. Kumar claims that the makers of ‘Jhund’ told him that they bought the rights from Kumar, although Kumar gave him three no-objection certificates that reportedly state that he did not sell the rights to the makers. The Telangana High Court has stalled the release of ‘Jhund’ and the Supreme Court has refused to lift it.

Gangubai Kathiawadi: The Alia Bhatt-starrer is in legal trouble, and the actress and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali have been summoned by the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate in Mumbai. One of the four children of Kathiawadi, Babu Rawji Shah, has filed a criminal defamation case against the actress and director. Shah says that the movie is defamatory. Bhatt and Bhansali are scheduled to appear in court on May 21.

Karnan: Filmmaker Mari Selvaraj recently posted a statement on social media regarding the song ‘Pandarathi Puranam’ in the film ‘Karnan’, starring Dhanush. A resident of Madurai filed a petition in Madurai High Court regarding the word ‘Pandarathi’. He said that the word can be insulting to a certain section of people. He requested the court to either have the song removed from the film and ban the film until they remove the song.

Bombay Begums: The show got into trouble with the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights. The NCPCR issued a legal notice to ‘Bombay Begums’ to stop airing the show due to its inappropriate portrayal of children. It also claimed that a show like this would pollute young minds and result in the exploitation of children. In the show, a 13-year-old was shown snorting drugs. There was also an issue about girls sending inappropriate pictures of body parts to boys. The series is streaming on Netflix and has been green-lit for a second season.