Akshay Kumar's Independence-Day gift 'Mission Mangal' faces lawsuit
What's the story
Akshay Kumar recently announced his plans about the next Independence Day release, which would be called Mission Mangal. However, even before the film started production process, it ran into a potential roadblock in form of a lawsuit seeking to halt the film from going on the floors. Initially slated to release on August 15, 2019, know how the lawsuit could potentially stop the film.
Film story
The big release: What is the film about?
According to Akshay, the film follows the powerful story of "ordinary people with extraordinary dreams". Based on true events of the 2014 Mangalyaan Mars Mission, the story shows how these people came together to try and complete a mission, previously unheard of, in order to achieve the impossible. It also stars Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Sharman Joshi and Nithya Menen.
Twitter Post
Akshay's tweet announcing the film made fans happy
A powerful true story of ordinary people with extraordinary dreams, on an unheard of mission to achieve the impossible. #MissionMangal will come alive on 15th August, 2019. See you at the theaters. @foxstarhindi
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) November 13, 2018
Lawsuit details
Now, understanding the charges faced by 'Mission Mangal'
US-based filmmaker Radha Bharadwaj alleged that R Balki production had infringed on the copyright of her original screenplay. She had shared it with Atul Kasbekar of Ellipsis Entertainment in 2016, who shared it with Balan and rushed to produce the film based on Bharadwaj's script. Notably, she had already registered the script with the US Copyright Office for US and Indian markets in 2016.
Quote
Don't steal any big ideas, they're not going to happen
About her idea being allegedly copied, Bharadwaj's lawyer stated, "There are hundreds of ways to tell the story of Mangalyaan, but Radha came up with the angle of focusing on the women engineers working on the mission".
Further allegations
Stacking the proof in the lawsuit
Bharadwaj's lawsuit cited transgression of a non-disclosure agreement signed between her and Kasbekar's studio. The NDA did not allow her script to be disclosed without her written consent. Yet, she claims to have proof based on an e-mail from Kasbekar's team, which stated Balan had read the script. She further alleged it was being rushed to production to dissuade distributors from releasing her film.
Personal
Notably, Balan hasn't reacted on the reports yet
While Bharadwaj was ready to lay her cards out, saying she had documentation from 2014 about her efforts to bring her idea to screen, Vidya Balan has not reacted to the news. Is Bharadwaj's story true? Only time will tell us.