Raabta wins over Magadheera in plagiarism feud; film to release tomorrow
Mumbai: The trailer of ‘Raabta’ shows glimpses of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in the avatar of a barbarian, slashing his enemies with some crafty swordplay. Behind the scenes leading up to the release of the film has been another high-voltage drama unraveling itself with more action than you’ll probably see in the film.
We all are aware how filmmakers have been targeted just before the release of their films. The common ploy has been to try and get a stay order against a film’s release until a case is completed. It is often assumed that the filmmakers will panic and settle through compensation to ensure the smooth release of their films.
In an unprecedented case, maker of the Telugu film ‘Magadheera’ slapped a last-minute case on the makers of ‘Raabta’ citing plagiarism. Unusual to see members of the same fraternity trying to prevent a release, we contacted the filmmakers who were tight-lipped about the case saying it was a legal matter. On further investigation, we have found a bizzare case that was being fought.
Sources requesting anonymity reveal, “The ‘Raabta’ makers received a legal notice from the producer (Allu Arvind) of ‘Magadheera’ citing plagiarism. They requested him to watch their rough-cut, but he didn’t want that… Obviously, a bigger game, which unraveled later, was being played.”
With stress levels reaching new heights, and the producer of ‘Magadheera,’ Allu Arvind, refusing to entertain any reasoning by the ‘Raabta’ makers, there seemed no way out.
Our source divulges, “They were was willing to show him (Allu Arvind) ‘Raabta’ so he could compare it with ‘Magadheera’ to ascertain it’s not a copy, but he wasn’t interested. Then they offered to put the compensation being asked for into escrow with the esteemed court and if the court decided it was a copy, he could take the amount demanded. He wasn’t even interested in entertaining this.”
So what exactly was the conspiracy to prevent the release of Raabta?
“The only thing I can think of is that he had sold the rights of ‘Magadheera’ to be made in Hindi and is concerned that since ‘Raabta’ is also about reincarnation and unrequited love, after its release, no one will want to do a similar genre soon.”
Continues our source, “Maybe I’m wrong but since the aim was to stop the release rather than fight the case correctly, this is the only reason that makes sense.”
Going down to the last minute verdict, less than 24 hours before the release, the court has finally thrown out the case that was preventing the release of ‘Raabta.’
However, Allu Aravind, head honcho of Geetha Arts officially states, "Yesterday both the parties representing 'Magadheera' and 'Raabta' have settled the on-going legal dispute amicably outside the court. Hence, Geetha Arts has officially withdrawn the case.
Well, with so much drama off-screen we seem to be in for a roller coaster of a movie. As planned earlier, the film will release on June 9.
