Is that Elvis or Bappi?

On the one hand, Bappi Lahiri seems to be in no mood to forgive and forget. On the other, the producers of Toonpur Ka Superrhero are hopeful the composer won’t obstruct the release of their live animation film. Delhi High Court will hear the matter today.

On the one hand, Bappi Lahiri seems to be in no mood to forgive and forget. On the other, the producers of Toonpur Ka Superrhero are hopeful the composer won’t obstruct the release of their live animation film toplining Ajay Devgn and Kajol in cinemas this Friday.

HT Image

HT Café reported on Monday that Lahiri had sent a legal notice to the film’s producers Kumar Mangat Pathak and Eros Entertainment, and director Kireet Khurana for caricaturing him as Guppy. Through his lawyers, the composer asked the filmmakers to either delete the character Guppy or change his getup so it wouldn’t have any resemblance to him. He also urged the producer-director to issue a public apology within two days of receiving his notice failing which he would take legal recourse.

The producers maintain they have not taken off on the veteran composer. So the question of deleting Guppy’s character or altering it doesn’t arise.

However, Lahiri will go ahead with the legal wrangle. The Delhi High Court has set December 23 as the date for hearing. Krishika Lulla of Eros Entertainment feels there was no need for Lahiri to get worked up about this. “If you see Guppy closely, you’ll notice that he’s dressed like Elvis Presley,” she points out, adding that their legal team will present these facts in court.

She asserts that everything will soon be sorted out. “I’m sure once we talk to Lahiri, he will understand our point of view and won’t have any problems with the film’s release.” Sharing his production partner’s viewpoint, Kumar Mangat says, “We’ve not based Guppy on Bappi Lahiri. I think he has misunderstood the character. He is free to see the film and decide for himself,” Mangat said.

Lahiri was unavailable for comment.