Kannada actor Ramya, has taken legal action against the producers of Hostel Hudugaru Bekagidaare and has asked them to stop ‘unauthorised usage of video clips and scenes’ of her for the movie’s promotion. The movie, which is scheduled to release on Friday, July 21, is produced by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Private Limited, Paramvah Studios, Prajwal BP and Varun Kumar and has Rakshit Shetty and Pawan Kumar starring in it. A former MP from Mandya, Ramya approached the Commercial Court in Bengaluru asking for a stay order and a compensation of Rs 1 core. The court granted an interim injunction and has asked for the trailers to be pulled down and re-released without Ramya in it.
According to a source, Ramya and the filmmakers had mutually agreed that she won’t be a part of the movie or any trailers. Though she was initially a part of the project and shot with the crew in April 2022, she disagreed with how the movie was panning out and said that this wasn’t what the film production house’s brief was. She did not take any financial compensation, according to the source. She however agreed to be part of the first promo. The first promo of the movie was released in November 2022 starring Ramya, with a last slide that said that she was not starring in the movie.
However, the film makers went ahead and used Ramya’s shots in the trailer released in July 2023. Ramya approached the court asking for a stay order and produced WhatsApp chats with the filmmakers in which she has informed that she does not give consent to be used in the movie’s trailer.
Her legal notice to the filmmakers says, "Ramya is aggrieved for unauthorizedly using video clips in the trailer of the feature film Hostel Hudugaru Bekagidaare as well in the main film as well. This was done despite the fact that our client expressly and unequivocally refused her consent for her video clips etc." Ramya has insisted that her visuals, photographs, news, and other content be promptly removed from various platforms such as YouTube.
The film is directed by Nithin Krishnamurthy. The movie also has Rishab Shetty in a cameo role.