Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai to Ghooskhor Pandat: Film titles that landed in legal trouble
Finalising a film's title takes a lot of deliberation, but when it runs into legal trouble, it becomes a challenging situation. Here are some recent examples
As the makers of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai battle in court over the rights of the film’s name and music, here’s a look at some upcoming projects that had a brush with the law over their titles
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai
Varun Dhawan-starrer Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai ran into legal trouble recently as Puja Entertainment approached the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division)-I, Katihar, Bihar over alleged unauthorized exploitation, monetization and commercial use of its films, music rights, sound recordings and underlying works and took legal action regarding the title and IP rights of the film. On May 13, the court passed an interim status quo on the proposed release of the film. Meanwhile, the film’s producers, Tips Music has strongly denied all allegations, calling the claims “malicious” and “misconceived,” asserting that it has legally owned and commercially exploited the music rights. The case is still pending in the court for further hearings.
Bishnoi documentary
The ZEE5 documentary, initially titled Lawrence of Punjab, got stalled from its original release date of April 27 due to a legal case against it filed by Punjab Advocate General M S Bedi who contended that it could negatively influence youth by normalising organised crime. This followed a case filed by Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, seeking a ban on it. On Monday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside the Centre’s advisory against its release, issuing directions to its makers to remove references to “Lawrence” and “Punjab” from its title. The petitioner’s counsel, Amit Jhanji, said that neither “Lawrence Bishnoi” nor “Punjab” would be used in the title of the docu-series, thus paving the way for its release.
Ghooskhor Pandat
{{/usCountry}}The ZEE5 documentary, initially titled Lawrence of Punjab, got stalled from its original release date of April 27 due to a legal case against it filed by Punjab Advocate General M S Bedi who contended that it could negatively influence youth by normalising organised crime. This followed a case filed by Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, seeking a ban on it. On Monday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside the Centre’s advisory against its release, issuing directions to its makers to remove references to “Lawrence” and “Punjab” from its title. The petitioner’s counsel, Amit Jhanji, said that neither “Lawrence Bishnoi” nor “Punjab” would be used in the title of the docu-series, thus paving the way for its release.
Ghooskhor Pandat
{{/usCountry}}The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) appealed to the film, television producer bodies and the OTT platforms in February to refrain “from allowing the registration or continuation of film titles” such as filmmaker Neeraj Pandey’s Ghooskhor Pandat as they find it “offensive and derogatory.” The Supreme Court then directed the makers of the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer to change its title as it is “denigrative” of a particular community. Pandey later apologised for hurting sentiments and took down all promotional materials with the original title and promised to rename the film.
Kara
Just a few days before its release on April 30 this year, Dhanush-starrer Kara ran into legal trouble over its title as producer Vengai Ayyanar filed a case in the Madras High Court on behalf of a Salem-based production banner claiming that he had already registered the title ‘Kara’ with the producers’ council back in 2021. He also stated that he is already developing a film with the title. The petitioner sought a stay on the film’s release, however Kara opened in theatres as per its original release plan.
Bro Code
Actor-producer Ravi Mohan’s upcoming film was titled Bro Code, but it faced a legal trademark dispute with IndoSpirit Beverages Pvt. Ltd., the company behind the popular alcoholic drink of the same name. The Delhi High Court had issued an injunction stopping the filmmakers from using the title, arguing it was a direct hit on IndoSpirit’s registered trademark, which came after Mohan’s initial win in the Madras High Court. After months of back-and-forth, the actor-producer decided to part ways with the title as part of the settlement with the beverage company, mediated by the Delhi HC.
