Delhi High Court To View Hindi Film Doosra In Sourav Ganguly's Personality Rights Case

The Delhi High Court has directed the makers of the Hindi film Doosra to arrange a screening before the Court to assess whether it infringes former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly's personality rights.

The direction came on Friday, a day after the Court refused to stay the film's scheduled theatrical release.

Justice Vinod Kumar directed the makers of the film to file their written statements and replies to the injunction application before the next hearing. The Court said the application should be considered only after the parties had an opportunity to file their pleadings.

The film was released in theatres on Friday, October 23. The parties opposing the injunction argued that the application had consequently become infructuous. Ganguly and Luv Films LLP, however, maintained that an ad-interim injunction could still be granted.

The Court deferred consideration of the injunction plea and directed the parties opposing it to arrange for the film to be screened so that it could assess whether Ganguly's personality rights had been infringed.

The matter has been listed before the Roster Bench on October 29, subject to the orders of the Judge-in-Charge.

The development follows Thursday's hearing, when the Delhi High Court declined to stay the film's scheduled theatrical release. Justice Dinesh Bhatt had observed, “I am simply keeping it for tomorrow. No stay.”

Ganguly and Luv Films LLP have sued a producer of the Hindi film Doosra and others, alleging unauthorised commercial exploitation of the former cricketer's personality rights through the film, directed by Abhinay Deo.

During Thursday's hearing, counsel for Ganguly submitted that no licence had been obtained from the former cricketer for the alleged use of his personality. The plaintiffs described Ganguly as the film's “pseudo hero”, contending that nearly one-third of its trailer featured his footage.

They also relied on an interview in which director Abhinay Deo referred to Ganguly.

According to the plaintiffs, the film repeatedly refers to Ganguly's leadership of the Indian cricket team, his professional achievements and his iconic shirt-waving moment at Lord's following India's victory in the 2002 NatWest Series final.

The plaintiffs alleged that the film's trailer and promotional campaign exploit Ganguly's identity, reputation and goodwill to attract public interest and generate commercial traction without his consent or authorisation.

Opposing the plea, the film's makers argued that Doosra is not a biographical film about Ganguly. Instead, they submitted, it tells the story of a girl from Rajasthan who draws inspiration from the former cricketer.

They also contended that the necessary licence had been obtained from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), or the authorised rights holder, to use footage from the 2002 NatWest Series. They argued that Ganguly had no rights over the footage.

The plaintiffs have also relied on an agreement executed between Ganguly and Luv Films on August 5, 2021. According to them, the agreement granted the production house exclusive contractual rights to develop, produce and commercially exploit audiovisual content, including a biographical film based on Ganguly's life, personal and professional journey, experiences and achievements.

Luv Films has claimed that it has invested substantially in the authorised biopic and completed its shooting. The production house has also stated that it has undertaken the licensing of exploitation rights in the project, thereby creating third-party interests.

In its Friday order, the Court issued summons in the suit and notice on the interim injunction application. It declined to decide the injunction plea immediately, holding that it should be considered after the parties had an opportunity to file their pleadings.

The matter will be heard next on October 29,.

For Sourav Ganguly: Senior Advocate Rajeshwari H. with Advocates Jaya Goyal and Manpreet Kaur