Jaipur Court Issues Notice To Makers Of Hindi Film ‘Bala’; SC Directs Bombay HC To Decide Before November 8 Release

The Jaipur metropolitan additional district judge has issued a notice to Maddock Films Pvt Ltd, makers of the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer 'Bala' which is scheduled to be released on November 8, 2019.

The district issued the notice after a filmmaker Naman Goyal sought a stay on the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer, alleging that several of its scenes have been copied or plagiarized from his short film ‘The Beginning To Get Bald’, which he made in 2010.

The district judge has also asked makers of the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer to be present in court.

Naman Goyal has alleged that several scenes have been copied in violation of the copyright law, adding that his civil suit has sought damages as well a permanent stay on the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer.

Goyal stated that he decided to move court after watching the trailer and several scenes of the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer ‘Bala’.

“I had directed ‘The Beginning To Get Bald’ in 2010 when I was a student of the New York Film Academy and it was released on Facebook. The movie had also won the award for best short film at the Mini Box Office International Film Festival 2010,” Goyal said.

Incidentally, Goyal’s civil suit has come immediately after another filmmaker Kamal Kant Chandra approached the Bombay High Court and then the Supreme Court recently, alleging that makers of the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer ‘Bala’ have plagiarized his concept.

The Supreme Court has already directed the Bombay High Court to arrive at a resolution by November 8.

Chandra stated that he hopes to get a stay on the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer ‘Bala’ before it is released on November 8, 2019.

Chandra claimed that he had met Ayushmann Khurrana during the shooting of ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’ and in September 2017 sent him his concept via WhatsApp.

“I got a message from Ayushmann within an hour. He said he liked the concept and wanted a narration. As a struggling assistant director, I was very happy to receive positive feedback from a star. I decided to meet him with the script but I got a message from his manager that he was busy so I left the script with them but there was no response,” Chandra claimed.

Chandra also claimed that after following up with him for over a year, the actor's team apparently told him that Ayushmann was not interested in playing a bald character.

However, in December 2018, Chandra read that Ayushmann was all set to play a man with premature balding in a film.

“I was shocked. I sent him a legal notice. I also filed a case against him and the makers in Bombay High Court in March 2019. ‘Bala’ producer Dinesh Vijan's company said that they were working on the script that time,” Chandra stated.

“I moved the Supreme Court in October 2019. There was a hearing on November 4 in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ordered Bombay High Court to resolve the matter before ‘Bala’ releases on November 8,” Chandra stated.