In response to a suit filed by a writer Rakesh Bharti, who sought credit as one of the writers of the movie ‘Chhapaak,’ the director of the movie, Meghna Gulzar, filed an affidavit before the Bombay HC, stating that copyright cannot be claimed on true events and incidents. She sought the dismissal of a suit filed by the writer who claimed that he originally penned a story on the life of an acid attack survivor on which the film is based.
The advocates Ameet Naik and Madhu Gadodia appearing for Meghna filed the affidavit stating the suit filed by the writer was ‘wholly misconceived, frivolous, legally untenable and unmeritorious.’ They further affirmed that the suit was filed with an ulterior motive to gain undue publicity and to obstruct the release of the movie.
“The suit fails to make out any case of copyright infringement. True facts and events are not entitled to copyright protection,” observed the affidavit.
The said movie is based on the story of Laxmi Agarwal, who survived an acid attack while she was just 15 years old. A 32-year-old man threw acid on her face for refusing his advances.
The plaintiff claimed that he had conceived an idea/script for a movie, tentatively titled ‘Black Day,’ and even got it registered with the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) in February 2015. He sought an interim stay on the release of the movie pending final hearing of the suit.
“The plaintiff intends to only wrongfully and dishonestly gain publicity and pressurize Meghna Gulzar. The plaintiff wants to tarnish the reputation of Meghna Gulzar and extract money,” the affidavit said.
The suit is going to be heard by Justice SC Gupte at 3 PM today.
