The Bombay High Court on Wednesday has refused to stay the release of Shahid Kapoor-starrer Jersey, after a copyright infringement suit was filed by writer Rajneesh Jaiswal against the makers of the film.
Jaiswal has claimed that the concept, story, and idea from his script have been illegally plagiarised by the makers of Jersey as well as the original Telugu film, which was released in 2019, in his petition. He noted that in 2007 he had gotten his script, titled The Wall, registered with the former Film Writers Association (now Screenwriters Association).
The case has been filed against Kapoor as well as producers Dil Raju, Brat Film through Aman Gill, Allu Aravind, Telugu film producer Suryadevara Naga Vamsi.
Jaiswal stated that the plagiarised version of his script has been “manipulated slightly, in order to evade the scanner of plagiarism.” He further alleged that the defendants had all set up a scheme “to cheat and deceive him for wrongful gain by obtaining the script from a third party so that they can avoid paying royalties.”
“The fact that the Telugu language movie is now being adapted and remade in Hindi, in itself shows that huge profits have already been made from the Telugu film in 2019 when it was released,” it further read.
The plea concluded by asking for “a permanent injunction on the release of the Hindi film Jersey in theatre or any other digital medium” and to “prohibit the defendants from distributing the film in any form, mode, or medium of broadcast/telecast/screening.”
However, on Wednesday, Justice RI Chagla refused to stay the release of the film.
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Jersey is a remake of the 2019 Telugu sports drama of the same name, which was led by actor Nani. It is helmed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, who also directed the Telugu original. The film also stars Shahid Kapoor’s father, actor Pankaj Kapur, in a pivotal role. Recently, the makers postponed the release date of the film from April 14 to April 22.