Lama thrown out of Court for false copyright infringement against Ashutosh Gowariker

The Bombay High Court has ruled in favour of director Ashutosh Gowariker on Tuesday in a suit filed against him by Akashaditya Lama wherein Lama had alleged that Gowariker stole his script for his upcoming film Mohenjo Daro. Justice G.S. Patel dismissed an injunction plea against the film's release and imposed exemplary and punitive costs of Rs. 1,50,000 against Lama.

The High Court also fined Lama, who was the director of 2012 film Cigarette Ki Tarah, a sum of Rs. 1.5 lakh, saying that the intention behind the plea was only to harass the filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker. Earlier, Lama claimed that he had narrated the story back in 2001 to Jaswinder Ballu Saluja, an editor who has worked in some of Gowariker's films like ‘Lagaan’ and ‘Swades’.

Gowariker's spokesperson confirmed the verdict and said “Ashutosh had faith in the legal system and rather than talking about this, he has been engrossed in promoting the film and I’m sure that that is what he will continue to do. Everyone is fully geared up for 12th August and also the Locarno International Film Festival.”