Manoj Kumar once took legal action against SRK, Farah
What's the story
The film industry is mourning the demise of veteran actor Manoj Kumar, who died at the age of 87 in Mumbai.
A star of patriotic movies like Purab Aur Paschim and Kranti, Kumar was also a man of principles who didn't shy away from raising his voice.
One such example of this was when he filed a defamation suit against Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan for a scene in their 2007 film Om Shanti Om.
Dispute details
The controversial scene in 'Om Shanti Om'
The controversy started over a scene in Om Shanti Om where Khan's character, Om Prakash Makhija, crashes a movie premiere with a pass belonging to Kumar.
The police failed to recognize him because of his signature face-palm style.
This depiction hurt Kumar's sentiments deeply, he felt it insulted his five-decade-long devotion to filmdom.
According to Zoom, when Kumar asked the makers of Om Shanti Om to cut the scene they agreed to it.
Apology
Apology and promise to remove the scene
Following the uproar, Khan apologized for any hurt caused to Kumar, saying, "I was completely wrong. If he is hurt, I apologize."
The filmmakers also caved into Kumar's demand to edit the controversial scene from future versions of the film.
However, even with these assurances, the contentious scene stayed on international releases, including a 2013 re-release of Om Shanti Om in Japan.
This led Kumar to seek legal intervention again, demanding ₹100 crore in damages from Khan and Eros International.
Case withdrawal
Kumar's disappointment and eventual withdrawal of the case
However, the second legal step also didn't reap results, so he withdrew all cases. Kumar's lawyer, Rizwan Siddique, said that Khan had assured Kumar he'd remove the offensive scenes and issue an apology, but he never kept his word.
"My client, who is a world-renowned celebrity, has decided to withdraw the case because it has failed in achieving the objective of bringing some sense of responsibility to Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan," Siddique had said back in 2013.