Producer Boney Kapoor has sent a legal notice to the makers of Priya Prakash Warrier’s debut Bollywood film Sridevi Bungalow. Warrier, who plays the eponymous character, is shown to be meeting her end in a bathtub, mirroring the real-life circumstances that led to the death of Kapoor’s actress-wife Sridevi.
Prasanth Mambully, the director of Sridevi Bungalow, acknowledged the receipt of the legal notice and said in a CE report “We received a legal notice from Boney Kapoor two weeks back. In the letter, he asked us to not use Sridevi’s name anywhere in the film. Our reply to him was that Sridevi is a common name across India and that’s why we have used it. There has been no further communication. I will face whatever controversy that comes my way regarding this film.”
Mambully in his explanation has said, “Sridevi is a proud name for all Indians. Even I am a fan of Sridevi. My film is a suspense thriller where Priya Prakash Warrier is playing a character named Sridevi. That is all I can reveal about the story right now. I would request everyone to watch the film to find out if it is based on real events or not.”
The movie had become news ever since it was announced. “It is a big budget movie and will have a few prominent actors from Bollywood too. The story is set in London. We completed the first schedule last week and the second schedule begins on January 15,” Mambully said.
Prashanth Mambully was the director of the 2009 Malayalam movie Bhagavan, starring Mohanlal in the lead. The film was known for wrapping up shoot in 19 hours.
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Meanwhile, reports have emerged about Boney Kapoor’s plans to make a biopic on his wife. “He’s definitely planning to tell Sridevi’s story in a movie before anyone else does. Believe me, there are several filmmakers planning to make films on her. Before they get down to it, Boney wants to copyright her life story so that only he will be able to make his wife’s biopic the way he wants to,” a source close to the movie said.