Telangana High Court has ordered a stay on the release of ‘Jhund’, an Amitabh Bachchan starred movie

CASE: Nandi Kumar Channi vs N. Prakash Rao

COURT: Justice P. Sri Sudha

Recently, the Telangana High Court has ordered status quo on a plea seeking stay release on an Amitabh Bachhan starred movie ‘Jhund’ on the OTT platform. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for 8th June 2022 and till then the court has directed the respondents to file their reply in response to the petitioner's temporary injunction application.   

FACT: T-series produced movie, ‘Jhund’ is accused of infringement of copyright by filmmaker Nandi Chinni Kumar, who claims to have bought the rights in the year 2017. The film was planned to be released last year, but Nandi filed a case of copyright infringement against the movie which has caused a delay in its release. Both the parties had an agreement last year for a consideration of Rs. 1.3 crore, but Nandi states that the settlement was fraudulent in nature. The movie portrays the life story of a social activist and football coach Vijay Barse, who trained Akhilesh Paul, a famous slum soccer player. As Akhilesh forms a huge part of Vijay’s life, the film cannot abstain from showing Akhilesh's life journey. 

However, Nandi bought the rights to a movie showing the story of Akhilesh Paul in the year 2017. When he came to know that a similar story was being produced by T-series, he filed a case of copyright infringement against the producers and filmmakers. The case is ongoing in the court and a decision regarding ownership rights will be taken therein.