MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has asked Bollywood actor – producer Shah Rukh Khan to deposit Rs 10 million (Rs 1 crore) with the court before releasing his superhero flick Ra.One next week. This comes in the light of the plagiarism case that has been filed by film and TV producer Yash Patnaik, who claimed that the concept of Ra.One was his.
"The defendants (Shar Rukh, his production house Red Chillies Entertainment and Eros Entertainment) are directed to deposit a sum of Rs 1 crore as pay-order to the court and then release the movie," the division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi said.
Patnaik claims that he is the original copyright owner of the concept and the content of Ra.One and has bounced off the idea to Mushtaq Sheikh, who is credited as the screenplay of SRK’s Ra.One.
The HC also said that if the defendants failed to deposit the money tomorrow, an injunction against the movie’s release would become operational.
"It is the most unfortunate part of the film industry that people use others’ concepts and then don’t want to pay or give them credit," the bench said.
However, the court has kept final decision on the issue of copyright violation pending. The arguments will be heard at a later date.
Ra.One, starring Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal is directed by Anubhav Sinha and will release worldwide on 26 October.
