New Delhi: Ram Gopal Varma's new Sholay finally got the green signal for release after the Delhi High Court on Monday ruled that Varma can release the remake of yesteryear's blockbuster by changing the title of the film from Ram Gopal Varma Ki Sholay to Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag.
The court gave green signal for the release of the much-publicised film after Varma filed an affidavit giving an undertaking that he would not use the title Sholay and the name of the popular characters like 'Gabbar Singh' and 'Basanti'.
The roadblocks for the release of the film in which superstar Amitabh Bachchan has assumed the role of 'Gabbar Singh' had come on a lawsuit filed by grandson of GP Sippy, who had produced Sholay.
Taking on record the affidavit in which Varma claimed that the storyline, character, music etc, did not match with Sippy's Sholay, Justice Gita Mittal said the director can release his film under the title Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag.
The popular characters 'Gabbar Singh' and 'Basanti' have been renamed as 'Babban Singh' and 'Ghungroo'. The court also gave liberty to Sippy Films Pvt Ltd and Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owned by Sascha Sippy and Shan Uttam Singh, "to push for its remaining claims, if any, after watching the film's remake."
Sascha and Singh had filed the lawsuit to permanently restrain Varma from releasing the film Ram Gopal Varma Ki Sholay, maintaining the use of the name 'Sholay' by any other entity amounts to infringement of trademark and copyright.
The court in an interim order in October last had stayed the release of Varma's much-hyped remake of the 1970s' blockbuster Sholay. Sippy had contended that they also have copyright on the use of character 'Gabbar Singh' which was played by late Amjad Khan in Sholay.
Sascha Sippy, director of the Sippy Films, claimed that the late GP Sippy's son Ajit Sippy, who reportedly sold the copyrights to Varma, had no such rights himself to transfer the same to others.
(With PTI inputs)
Comments
0 comment