Films Held to Ransom by Nuisance Litigations

A legal notice has been sent to Sajid Nadiadwala and Vishal Bharadwaj, producer and director respectively of Shahid Kapoor-starrer O Romeo, by Sanober Shaikh, who identifies herself as the daughter of gangster Hussain Ustara. She alleges that the film is based on her father’s life, portraying him negatively, seeking Rs 2 crore in compensation to be paid within seven days.

It’s unclear how Shaikh links the film to her father from an unnamed trailer, or how money can fix reputational harm, but such nuisance litigations are becoming increasingly common.

Such nuisance litigations, filed just weeks or days before the scheduled release, are typically aimed at extorting money from producers: ‘Pay up some lakhs or face a loss of crores when the film gets blocked.’

In reverse chronological order, in 2022, Gangubai’s adopted son sought a stay on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi, claiming it depicted her as a sex worker. In 2021, the Tamil actioner Chakra headlined by Vishal Krishna successfully warded off a similar stay order threat. But “it was a traumatic time for me and my team,” says Vishal. “Until a day before release we didn’t know if it would happen. Thankfully, the Court ruled in our favour.” Earlier, in 2017, producer Pahlaj Nihalani risked huge losses when N R Pachisia filed an eleventh-hour copyright case against Julie 2, forcing three postponements despite Nihalani’s protests. Both Vishal and Nihalani call for a stop to the practice of filing last-minute cases. If anyone has a problem with a film, they must come forward with it earlier, not when the film is on release.