The Delhi high court on Thursday declined to stay the release of “Doosra: India’s Other Freedom Struggle”, a Hindi sports drama inspired by former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, which is scheduled to hit theatres on Friday.
“I have said no stay, so the film can go on,” Justice Dinesh Bhatt said.
The court was hearing a petition filed by former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and Luv Films LLP to restrain the release of the film, citing the unauthorised use of events from the former cricketer’s life, particularly his captaincy in the NatWest cricket series final and his shirtless celebration at Lord’s.
The suit, argued by senior advocate Balbir Singh, alleged that Doosra amounted to the unauthorised commercial exploitation of Sourav Ganguly’s personality rights and infringed Luv Films’ exclusive contractual rights over his proposed biopic.
It contended that the film used the former cricketer’s name, image, likeness and iconic cricketing moments without his consent or a licence.
According to the suit, Ganguly entered into an agreement with Luv Films on August 5, 2021, granting the production house exclusive rights to develop, produce and commercially exploit audiovisual content, including a biographical film based on his life and cricketing career.
Luv Films claimed to have made substantial investments in the authorised biopic, titled Dada – The Sourav Ganguly Story, which is scheduled for release on May 14, 2027.
The suit further stated that the trailer and promotional campaign for Doosra, launched on October 12, prominently referenced Ganguly’s leadership of the Indian cricket team and its historic victory in the 2002 NatWest Series final at Lord’s.
It also cited an October 13 interview in which Deo discussed how the 2002 final and milestones in Ganguly’s career had influenced the film’s fictional character, Tara.
However, Deo’s lawyer Saurabh Kirpal argued that the movie was not a biopic of former India captain Sourav Ganguly, but the story of a girl from Rajasthan who draws inspiration from him. Kirpal further submitted that the filmmakers had obtained a licence from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to use footage from the NatWest Series, contending that Ganguly had no rights over the footage itself.
The matter will be heard again on Friday.