NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Friday asked the makers of the film “Doosra” to respond to cricketer Sourav Ganguly’s plea alleging violation of his personality rights in the movie, which was released in theatres earlier in the day.A vacation bench of Justice Vinod Kumar said the question of granting interim relief against the film could be decided only after the defendants filed their replies.The court also asked them to arrange a screening of the movie, news agency PTI reported.Justice Kumar, who held court during the high court’s Dussehra break, issued summons to the film’s producers, director and distributor in the lawsuit filed by Ganguly and Luv Films LLP, which is producing a biopic of the former India captain.The senior counsel representing the defendants submitted that “Doosra” was not a biopic but a fictional story about a middle-class girl from Rajasthan who is inspired by certain sporting events involving Ganguly.“(The defendants to make) arrangements for playing the film so that it can be decided whether the personality rights of the plaintiff are violated or not,” the court said, listing the matter for hearing on October 29.The defendants’ counsel argued that the plea seeking interim relief had become infructuous as the film had already been released. However, the complainant’ lawyer contended that a stay could still be granted, PTI reported.On Thursday, the high court had refused to stop the theatrical release of “Doosra” on Ganguly’s plea.The senior counsel appearing for the filmmakers had assured the court that the film was not a biopic and that the necessary permissions had been obtained from the appropriate rights holders to use certain clips involving Ganguly.Ganguly’s counsel apprehended a violation of the cricketer’s personality rights, arguing that no licence had been obtained from him for the production of “Doosra”.The defendants’ counsel, however, contended that a player cannot claim “personality rights” over clips from the 2002 NatWest series.“Doosra: India’s Other Freedom Struggle” is a sports drama directed by Abhinay Deo and starring Plabita Borthakur, Ankur Vikal and Samidha Guru.(With agency inputs)
