On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court recorded an undertaking from filmmaker Rajiv Rai after he spoke to the media about the dispute over the Dhurandhar: The Revenge song. The HC had ordered that his Trimurti Films and Aditya Dhar’s B62 Studios be referred to mediation. Rajiv was asked to refrain from commenting publicly on the matter after he called the makers of Dhurandhar 2 ‘thieves’.
Delhi HC asks Rajiv Rai to refrain from comments on Dhurandhar 2
Bar and Bench reported that the court noted that Rajiv had made multiple public statements on the merits of the case. It was emphasised that restraint is expected in public commentary when matters are sub judice to avoid escalation outside court.
Super Cassettes’ advocate told the court, “They are calling us thieves while the very issue is before this Court for consideration.” The company that holds the audio rights of Dhurandhar 2 also argued that such comments were causing damage to the film, which was running in theatres. The advocate for the music label also submitted that Rajiv cannot pursue remedies before the court while making public allegations and commentary on the dispute. He contended that the filmmaker’s statements amounted to conducting a parallel narrative.
Rajiv’s lawyer argued that the Dhurandhar 2 team should be able to take criticism, saying, “They get praise every day for being a box office hit. Equally, two people criticising them is not going to bring down heavens,” she stated that the filmmaker was willing to refrain from further commentary and was committed to working it out in mediation. The court observed on Wednesday that while both parties are free to hold opinions, make imputations, and comment on the dispute, publicly making remarks wasn’t appropriate.
What is the dispute?
Trimurti Films, which was once headed by Gulshan Rai and is now headed by Rajiv, alleges that the song Trichhi Topiwale from the 1989 film Tridev was used in Dhurandhar 2 without permission in the song Rang De Lal (Oye Oye). Aditya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar’s B62 Studios, and Jyothi Deshpande’s Jio Studios have also been named, apart from Super Cassettes. The case was referred to mediation last week.
Dhurandhar was released in theatres in December last year and collected over ₹1300 crore worldwide. The sequel has crossed the ₹1700 crore mark worldwide, becoming the first franchise in India to reach ₹3000 crore collectively. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Sara Arjun, R. Madhavan, Rakesh Bedi, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, and others.
