Bombay High Court refuses to stay release of Hindi film ‘Haddi’

The Bombay High Court recently refused to stay the release of the Hindi film ‘Haddi’ on petitions filed by two production companies Tiger Trail and Oberoi Mega Entertainment LLP (owned by Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi) against Haadi's producers. .Two orders were passed refusing to stay the film's release, slated for September 7.Single-judge Justice Manish Pitale questioned how staying the release of a film could protect the rights of the two production companies..“The Court fails to understand how the stay of the release of the said movie could, in any manner, protect the rights, if any, of the petitioners. The disputes sought to be raised by the petitioners and the grievance in that regard, at this stage, appear to be only against partners, which could be a matter of damages or compensation that the petitioners may claim against the said respondents, but they have failed to make out a case for staying release of the said movie” the Court said, in a September 4 order..The Court also disapproved of parties approaching court at the eleventh hour to seek a stay on the release of the movie. The matter will be heard next on October 16. .Both petitions were filed seeking interim relief while arbitration proceedings were ongoing.Oberoi Mega Entertainment's plea raised a grievance that the film's rights had been wrongfully given to other entities. It pointed out that a limited liability partnership agreement was earlier executed with Anandita Entertainment LLP to produce the film. Oberoi then discovered that Zee Studios had engaged in an exchange of emails with Anandita Studios Private Limited in connection with the production and release of a film with the same script. Oberoi claimed that Zee’s emails indicated that it was aware of a prior agreement with Anandita Entertainment. Despite this knowledge, Zee went ahead with its deal with Anandita Entertainment and thereafter announced the movie in May 2022. The said movie is set to release on September 7, 2023. Oberoi sought for a stay on the film claiming Zee could not have surreptiously engaged with Anandita Studios..The respondents, on the other hand, claimed that the disputes being raised by Oberoi pertained to their claims with Anandita Entertainment and that the release of the film could not be dragged into the dispute. They also sought time to file a reply. .Tiger Trails, meanwhile, claimed Anandita Entertainment misused funds provided to it to produce the film. It urged the Court to stay the film's release until this financial dispute is resolved. The Court, however, found no connection between the transfer of money by Tiger Trails and the production of the film, which is slated to be released on the Zee OTT platform later this week.Accordingly, the Court refused to grant any relief to the Tiger Trails as well, thereby paving the way for the release of the film as scheduled. .Advocates Hiren Kamod, Ravindra Suryawanshi, Tanvi Nandgaonkar, Krunal Mehta and Archis Bhatt briefed by Bar & Brief Attorneys appeared for Zee.Advocate Reshant Shah briefed by Lex Conseiller appeared for Tiger Trails. Advocates Anoshak Daver, Prerak Choudhary, Prakash Choudhary, Anisha Balse, Tushar Awasthi, Regina David, Trisha Ranka and Krisha Barot briefed by Prerak Choudhary appeared for Oberoi.Advocates Drishti Khurana briefed by Zen Jurists appeared for Anandita Entertainment..[Read order]