HC refuses to stay release of Akshay Kumar-starrer Sky Force amid copyright allegations

Bombay HC dismisses copyright infringement claims against Akshay Kumar's Sky Force, allowing its release on January 24, 2025, citing plaintiff's delay.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday declined to stay the release of the Akshay Kumar-starrer movie Sky Force, dismissing allegations of copyright infringement raised by animator and creative director Sandeep Gangatkar. The court underscored the plaintiff’s delay in approaching the judiciary and highlighted the potential financial loss of ₹250 crore the film would incur if its release were stalled.

HC refuses to stay release of Akshay Kumar-starrer Sky Force amid copyright allegations

Gangatkar’s plea, filed against director Sandeep Kewlani, production houses Maddock Films and Jio Studios, sought a restraining order against the release of Sky Force, alleging it infringed upon his original literary work, Fire Bird. He claimed to have shared the script with Kewlani in 2014, who later denied the infringement allegations on January 17, 2025.

The film, a multi-starrer featuring Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Sara Ali Khan, and Nimrat Kaur, is slated for release on January 24, 2025. The storyline portrays India’s first airstrike during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, focusing on the retaliatory attack on Pakistan’s Sargodha air base.

The defendants’ counsel argued that Gangatkar’s late approach to the court was suspect, especially since the film’s storyline had been in the public domain since October 2023. They sought permission to submit an affidavit to substantiate their claims, questioning Gangatkar’s intentions in filing the plea just days before the movie’s release.

Advocate Hiren Kamod, representing Gangatkar, countered by requesting the court to stay the release and order a pre-screening of the film to validate the claims. He contended that Gangatkar became aware of the alleged infringement only after the trailer’s release, which revealed specific creative elements purportedly copied from Fire Bird.

Justice Manish Pitale, presiding over the case, stressed the need to assess whether the plaintiff acted promptly upon discovering the alleged infringement. The court examined evidence indicating that Sky Force’s teaser had been publicly available since October 2, 2023, with subsequent trailers and promotional materials offering further details. These included the names of the writer and co-director, Sandeep Kewlani, prominently displayed.

Between March 2024 and December 2024, various media outlets had published articles outlining the film’s storyline. Considering Gangatkar’s two-decade-long career in the entertainment industry, the court remarked that his claim of ignorance about the film’s details over several months was untenable.

Citing precedents, the court ruled against granting a stay on the film’s release. It emphasised that plaintiffs must act with alacrity when potential infringements become apparent through publicly available information. The judgment concluded that Gangatkar’s delay in filing the plea did not warrant an injunction, paving the way for Sky Force to hit theatres as scheduled on January 24, 2025.