October 13, 2009 2:27:11 PM IST Enkayaar, Bollywood Trade News Network

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While the world of Litigation as it unfolds daily in scores of court all across the country is finding scanty references through the Indian films off-late, last one where it was in some prominence was in LAGE RAHO MUNNA BHAI, a sickening trend that has emerged during couple of years is the fights of litigation that the big films are getting embroiled into. It has become sort of arm-twisting or a hafta of a new kind by seeking legal recourse on one filmy ground or the other to stall the release of the film. WANTED was the last big film, and now ALL THE BEST is also falling into the same trap.

For a producer who already is under severe financial strain to see that his film is released, any delay of an unwarranted kind of these types, further exacerbates the situation for him, so to buy peace he is perforce to resort to out of court settlements. ALL THE BEST is facing legal proceedings from Karan Ramsay who holds the view that he is having the rights on story, and Ajay Devgan has infringed on them. Through the legal proceedings, even though financial benefits to the contesting parties may not accrue, one thing that is assured is a celebrity status for at least a single day and that too all across the major television channels. Even Marshal Mclluhan would chuckle at this development, as he had predicted that everybody would have his 10 seconds of glory, but this manifestation even he would not have envisaged. But India is India and the absurdities abound, “fame ke liye kuch bhi karega” seems to have become the mantra.

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The trend has a sickening regularity as the litigations are filed very close to the date on which the film is going to be released and the producer has to make compromise one way or the other.

The legal proceedings are also at times activist driven who may be offended by one or the other manifestation in the film and would like the irritant to be removed. Does the thought ever cross their mind, how is it possible for a producer to re-shoot the whole things by removing the irritant? May be, they are aware so they file the litigations to gain some mileage.

The moot point is whether the courts should take suo motto cognizance of such facts when a film has been cleared by the censor board. May be the time has indeed come for the courts to factor in this premise as well, when deciding entertaining such petitions.


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