Court refuses to stall release of Shahid Kapoor's O Romeo, says Hussain Ustara's daughter 'failed to establish a case'

A Mumbai civil court issued an order denying an injunction in the case of Sanober Shaikh against the makers of O Romeo.

Vishal Bhardwaj's upcoming film O Romeo, starring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri in the lead roles, has secured a big legal victory. A Mumbai court has refused to stall its release, denying interim relief to late gangster Hussain Ustara's daughter, who claimed the movie was based on her father's life.

Shahid Kapoor in a still from Vishal Bhardwaj's O Romeo.

Court refuses to block release of O Romeo

In her case, Sanober Shaikh, daughter of Hussain Shaikh aka Hussain Ustara), had claimed that the makers of the film took no prior consent from her or her family while making the film. She filed a civil suit against the producer of the film Sajjid Nadiadwala, its director Vishal Bhardwaj and author Hussain Zaidi.

However, in its order on Saturday, the court said that Sanober failed to establish a case for an injunction. Civil court judge H C Shende pointed out that the plaintiff Sanober had previously demanded monetary compensation from the makers, which made an immediate injunction "impermissible in the eye of law".

In her lawsuit, Sanober Shaikh alleged the movie's theme is entirely based on her deceased father, who has been "portrayed as a gangster".

The makers' lawyers argued that the film is a "pure work of fiction" and includes clear disclaimers. The defence, represented by advocates Ashwin Bhalekar and Rishi Bhuta, submitted that Sanober Shaikh demanded money ranging from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore in various notices sent to the makers prior to filing the lawsuit. They claimed that this demonstrated that “the grievance is purely monetary”.

The court noted the element of delay in filing the suit. “The plaintiff was well aware of the proposed film much prior to filing suit, yet approached the court only when the release date was imminent,” it said. The judge also denied a pre-screening, saying it would amount to judicial censorship, which is also not permissible in view of settled law.

Shaikh's advocate said they will now challenge the verdict in the Bombay High Court.

All about O Romeo

O Romeo is a gangster drama. The film’s teaser shows it is an action-packed saga with plenty of violence and romance, but the plot is under wraps. The film stars Shahid Kapoor as a gunman.

O Romeo marks director Vishal Bhardwaj’s third collaboration with Shahid after Haider and Kaminey. The film boasts a strong ensemble cast, including Triptii Dimri, Avinash Tiwary, Farida Jalal, ⁠Vikrant Massey, Nana Patekar, ⁠Tamannaah Bhatia, and Disha Patani. It releases in theatres on 13 February.