The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to stay the release of movie ‘Nyay: The Justice’, purportedly based on late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s, in cinema halls and on OTT platforms, saying there is no “unholy interest” in the story of the man’s life which was “exceptional”. A vacation bench of Justices Anup Jairam Bhambhani and Jasmeet Singh said there is nothing to show that there would be “any detrimental effect” on Rajput’s reputation by production of movies about his life based on “what is available in public domain”.
The high court said there was no written script or story which has been used by the film maker and refused to pass any interim order on the appeal by Sushant’s father. “There is nothing that they (makers) have or they could have had used except what is available in the public domain. There is no unholy interest in the life story because the man’s life was an exceptional life which is a plausible theme for a movie and they have made a movie,” the court said.
Rajput’s father Krishna Kishore Singh had challenged a single judge’s order refusing to stay on the film or to restrain anyone from using his son’s name or likeness in movies. The court had directed the filmmakers to render complete accounts of the revenue earned from the films, if any case of damages is made out in future and listed the suit for completion of pleading before the joint registrar.
The suit has claimed that in case a “movie, web-series, book or any other content of similar nature is allowed to be published or broadcasted, it would affect the right of the victim and deceased for a free and fair trial as it may cause prejudice to them”.
It has also contended that Rajput being a well-known celebrity, “any misuse of his name/ image/ caricature/ style of delivering dialogues also amounts to infringement of the personality right vested with the plaintiff besides amounting to acts of passing off”.
The contentions of Rajput’s father have been opposed by the filmmakers of the upcoming and proposed movies.