Why is Sushant Singh Rajput's father fighting against 'Nyay's makers
It's been over three years since the untimely demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, but legal matters have clutched onto him incessantly. In a new update, on February 12, 2024, the Delhi High Court will hear a plea filed by Rajput's father, KK Singh against the film Nyay: The Justice (2021), allegedly based on Rajput's life. The Dilip Gulati directorial was released on Lapalap Original.
What is the case all about?
In July, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court refused to grant an injunction on the drama's online streaming. While Singh claimed that the film went against SSR's "personality rights," the court said a lot of time had passed and "thousands" might have watched it. In August, Singh moved the court against this order and the February hearing is a follow-up to that.
Why did the court not support Singh?
Per Law Beat, in July, Justice C Hari Shankar said, "To fasten a legal right, on something as fleeting as a celebrity appears to be an oxymoron. Law cannot allow itself to be a vehicle to promote celebrity culture." "The information contained, and shown, in the impugned film, is entirely derived from items which featured in the media and, therefore, constitute publicly available information."
Here's more of what the court said earlier
While Singh claimed the makers took SSR's "unfair commercial advantage," the court claimed that the "defendants (the makers) hadn't violated any right of SSR, much less of the plaintiff (Singh)." "Nor were the defendants required to obtain the consent of the plaintiff before making the movie," the court added in this case titled Krishna Kishore Singh v. Sarla A Saraogi & Ors. (producers).
More about the film, its makers, cast
Nyay: The Justice stars Asrani, Raza Murad, Sudha Chandran, and Kiran Kumar. The rest of the cast includes Kushi Anand, Abhishek Gautam, and Zuber K Khan. Per IMDb, the story is about "a boy called Mahinder who comes to tinsel town with the youthful innocence and exuberance" and the film "is an endeavor to reignite the spark to seek justice for a lost son."
What did the makers say in their response?
Earlier, the defendant's lawyer Ashok Saraogi said, "I want to assure all of you that it is false and the producers have not used [Rajput's] name or photograph in the film. The film is made on true events which have unfolded and with the information which is available in the public domain." Actor Khan had also called it a "tribute" to SSR.
