HC refuses to cancel Dhurandhar's censor certificate in plagiarism row, filmmaker refrained from 'defaming' Aditya Dhar

Filmmaker Santosh Kumar has filed a case accusing Aditya Dhar of ‘stealing’ the plot of Dhurandhar from his script, D-Saheb.

In two separate cases linked to the plagiarism row over Dhurandhar, filmmaker Aditya Dhar secured minor victories on Thursday. First, the Karnataka High Court dismissed a writ petition from filmmaker Santosh Kumar seeking cancellation of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate granted to Dhurandhar. On the same day, the filmmaker, who has accused Dhar of stealing his script for the film, assured Bombay High Court he will not make ‘defamatory statements’ against the director.

Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar stars Ranveer Singh in the lead role.

Relief for Aditya Dhar in Dhurandhar plagiarism row

LiveLaw reported that the single judge bench of Justice K S Hemalekha in Karnataka HC equivocally dismissed Santosh’s petition demanding the cancellation of Dhurandhar’s certification on the allegation that the movie was a plagiarised version of the Bengaluru-based screenwriter's original script titled D-Saheb. The court found no merit in the complaint. Santosh has filed a case demanding damages, alleging that Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar borrows heavily from his original script. The case is still sub judice.

In a separate case filed by Dhar against Santosh over alleged defamation, Santosh assured the Bombay High Court that he would not make defamatory statements against Dhar till the matter is sub judice. The statement was made before Justice Arif Doctor by Kumar's counsel, who submitted that his client would pursue appropriate legal remedies against Dhar and not make any public statements. When Aditya Dhar’s lawyers demanded an apology for calling him ‘chor’ (thief), Santosh’s legal team refused, saying the complainant believes he is right.

What is the case against Dhurandhar

Dhurandhar was released in December. Starring Ranveer Singh, the spy thriller was a critical and commercial success, minting ₹1300 crore worldwide, and setting a new domestic collection record for Bollywood. The record was broken by its sequel - Dhurandhar: The Revenge - which released in March.

After the release of Dhurandhar 2, Santosh Kumar made the allegations saying that the plot of Dhurandhar 2 was copied from his registered script titled D Saheb. The filmmaker added that his script had been registered with the Screenwriters Association of India (SWA) and thathe would take legal action against Dhar.

Aditya Dhar initially issued a legal notice to Kumar, denying any plagiarism, asking him not to make further allegations. However, when the latter failed to respond, Dhar moved the Bombay HC.

The two Dhurandhar films star Ranveer Singh as an Indian spy. The films also feature R Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi, and Sara Arjun in pivotal roles.