Supreme Court refuses to lift stay on Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Jhund’

Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Jhund will not be released anytime soon, as the Supreme Court refused to lift the stay imposed on the movie’s release. The court has dismissed an appeal against the Telangana High Court order, which had earlier stalled the movie's screening over a copyright row. The film, based on the life of Vijay Barse, the founder of the NGO Slum Soccer, was scheduled to be released this month on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video. Jhund was earlier scheduled to be released in May, but did not hit the screens due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the film is embroiled in a copyright issue which has been ongoing for weeks.

A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian dismissed the appeal filed by petitioner Super Cassettes Industries (T-Series) against the October 19 order of the High Court, which had refused to interfere with the trial court order restraining the release of the movie. “The special leave petitions are dismissed. As a sequel to the above, pending interlocutory applications, if any, stand disposed of,” the Supreme Court bench said in its order.

Hyderabad-based short-film maker Nandi Chinni Kumar has alleged copyright infringement against the filmmakers of Jhund. Kumar initiated the litigation, claiming he had purchased the right to make a film on Akhilesh Paul, who was the captain of the Indian Slum Soccer Team coached by Vijay Barse. The filmmakers of Jhund have refuted the allegation.

 During the hearing, the apex court observed that it is an interesting case, and it would direct that the trial be completed within six months. Counsel appearing for Jhund filmmakers said that the movie would be useless in six months and that they were willing to pay the person in question. 

The counsel also said that an amount of Rs 1.3 crore was agreed upon between the parties, but now the other party is allegedly not adhering to the agreement. Senior advocate PS Narasimha, appearing for Kumar and others said that the court may direct for the disposal of the case which is pending in the trial court within six months.

 A trial court in Telangana had on September 17 stayed the release of the movie until the conclusion of the case. The decision of the trial court was upheld by the High Court on October 19.

Super Cassettes has said in their petition filed in the top court that they have invested a significant amount in production, distribution, marketing and promotion for Jhund. They have also reportedly created third-party rights on the film, which is to be broadcast on a wide scale, both nationally and internationally.

Read: How Aparna Balamurali trained to become Bommi in ‘Soorarai Potru’