Varun Dhawan film faces Rs 4 billion lawsuit as Vashu Bhagnani pushes to cancel release over music rights dispute

The legal dispute between Vashu Bhagnani’s Puja Entertainment and Ramesh Taurani-led Tips Industries has intensified, with the production house moving the Bombay High Court over the use of songs from the 1999 film Biwi No.1 in Varun Dhawan’s upcoming comedy Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai.

Puja Entertainment has filed a Rs 400 crore suit against Tips Industries Limited, Ramesh Taurani, Kumar S Taurani and director David Dhawan, alleging unauthorised use of the tracks Chunnari Chunnari and Ishq Sona Hai in the film and its promotional campaigns.

The suit, filed through V K Dubey Associates, seeks an urgent injunction to halt the release, screening, streaming, distribution and commercial exploitation of the film and all promotional material featuring the disputed songs.

Speaking to ANI, Bhagnani’s lawyer said, “We have filed a suit with a claim of Rs. 400 crores to the Tips Music Company. The legal battle has been increasing for many days, and the rights of the musicians were not ready to be settled.”

The lawyer further argued that earlier agreements involving film music were limited in scope. “During that time, the agreements with Tips covered only audio rights. In 2018, Tips emailed us requesting visual rights. Vashu Bhagnani had replied to them, but their conversation did not settle,” he said.

According to the legal team, Puja Entertainment later issued a notice terminating the audio rights previously granted to Tips, claiming that this prevents the company from reusing the songs in another project.

“If they are the lawful owners of the music rights, they must show their documents. This is why we have filed a claim against Tips. Justice will prevail, and the truth will come out,” advocate Dubey added.

At the centre of the row are two popular songs from Biwi No.1, which feature in Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. Puja Entertainment claims the tracks have been used without valid permissions and has demanded that they be removed from both the film and its marketing material.

The production house has also objected to the title of the film itself, saying it is derived from the song Ishq Sona Hai, and has reportedly sought an additional Rs 100 crore in damages if its demands are not met.

Tips Industries, however, has rejected the allegations, maintaining that it owns the music and audio rights to the songs. In a statement issued on Thursday, the company described the claims as baseless.

Directed by David Dhawan, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai stars Varun Dhawan, Pooja Hegde and Mrunal Thakur, and is scheduled for a theatrical release on June 5.