Hyderabad-based short filmmaker Nandi Chinni Kumar has sent legal notices to the team of the upcoming film Jhund (2019) for copyright infringement.
The respondents are director Nagraj Manjule, lead actor Amitabh Bachchan, producer Bhushan Kumar of T-Series and Vijar Barse, founder of the football club Slum Soccer, on whose life the film is said to be based.
Chinni Kumar claimed to have bought in 2017 exclusive rights to make a film on the life of football player Akhilesh Paul, a player from the Slum Soccer club who went on to captain India at the Homeless World Cup.
According to him, Jhund also features the story of Paul, which amounts to copyright violation since the right to make a film on the player’s story rests with him.
“Though Nagraj Manjule, director of Marathi blockbuster Sairat (2016), bought the right to make a movie on the life of Vijay Barse, who is the coach of Akhilesh Paul, his film Jhund showcases Akhilesh’s story in a major role, thus violating my copyright,” Chinni Kumar told the Indo Asian News Service (IANS).
The filmmaker also claimed that Manjule had told him that he had bought the rights to Paul’s story for Rs4 lakh but was reluctant to show the documents. He told the agency that he got a ‘vague reply’ from T-Series to the notice sent by him.
The Hyderabad filmmaker has now decided to move court and also write to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to not grant a censor certificate to Jhund.