Director Sanjay Gupta’s next film, which he claims is with Hrithik Roshan and will be produced by Rakesh Roshan, is already facing legal issues. Model-turned-actor Sudhanshu Pandey has reportedly sent a legal notice to the makers for copyright infringement. He has alleged that he met Rakesh Roshan and was offered two per cent of the profits or a credit as the associate producer in the titles.
Later, when he was told that he wouldn’t be given any credit for the writing or the screenplay, Sudhanshu refused to go ahead with the project. He filed a complaint with the Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC) claiming to be the sole owner of the script.
Now, Vijay Kumar Mishra, a writer, has put out a public notice in a trade magazine calling Sudhanshu’s claims false. As far as the big guns are concerned, neither Hrithik nor his father have confirmed anything about going ahead with the film. The series of events has led us to wonder if Sanjay was just dropping names.
Not a first for Sanjay
Gupta is known for his name-dropping habits and John Abraham has been one of the victims. When John worked with him in Shootout At Wadala, the director had claimed that he was doing more films with John. A close friend of the actor said that John was shocked when he heard of Gupta’s claims. The director’s camaraderie with Sanjay Dutt is well known and Gupta does his bit to ensure people don’t forget that. Recently, after Umesh Shukla announced a film with Sanjay Dutt, Gupta immediately declared that the first film Dutt will do after his release will be with him (Gupta).
More legal battles ahead
Jazbaa: Tanu Weds Manu producer Vinod Bachchan had sent a legal notice to Sanjay Gupta demanding Rs 50 lakh that he had paid the director as remuneration for a film that did not take off. However, when Gupta went ahead and started Jazbaa with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vinod claimed that he was paid to work for Jazbaa and therefore should be credited as producer. In response to that, Gupta went ahead and filed an extortion and harassment case against Vinod. The matter is yet to be sorted in court.
Alibaug: Eros International filed a case against Gupta with the Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC) for breach of contract. They claimed a recovery of Rs 18 crore for their co-production Alibaug. According to them, Gupta had replaced the lead actor Sanjay Dutt with Irrfan Khan without informing Eros, which was a violation of the agreement.
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