Vakeel Saab, the recently-released Telugu remake of Hindi film Pink, ran into trouble after an individual complained that his phone number was displayed without his permission in a scene of the film. The complainant, Sudhakar, a resident of Hyderabad, filed a complaint against the makers at the Panjagutta Police Station in Hyderabad, Telangana.
He was referring to the scene from the film that shows a few miscreants morphing a photo of a girl and leaking her phone number on the internet. While the film shows the girl getting obscene calls from strangers, Sudhakar alleged that he has also been getting the same calls.
When contacted, Niranjan Reddy, the station house officer of the Panjagutta Police Station told Silverscreen India: “He [Sudhakar] has filed a petition that the filmmakers have displayed his number in a scene from the film. He has complained that he has been getting unnecessary and frequent calls, day and night, from strangers across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. He says he is scared.”
“We have suggested him to file a defamation case against the makers of the film. We are also discussing with the legal authorities and if there are possibilities of booking a criminal case, then we will do so. As of now, an FIR has not been filed. Only after getting the legal opinion from the public prosecutor, we will proceed with the complaint,” Reddy said.
Reddy said that if needed a defamation case will be filed by the complainant in the civil court against the makers of the film. “As of now, his number is switched off. However, we have verified that it is his number,” Reddy said.
Vakeel Saab, written and directed by Venu Sriram, is produced by Sri Venkateswara Creations and Bay View Projects. This is not the first time Sri Venkateswara Creations has been embroiled with controversy over the privacy of individuals.
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In March, actor Sakshi Malik filed a case against the producers, who also backed Telugu film V starring Nani. Malik had accused that the film used her portfolio picture without her permission in a scene, referring to it as the picture of a female escort or a commercial sex worker. While Malik had filed a defamation suit seeking a permanent injunction, the court granted an ad-interim order restraining the streaming platform (Amazon Prime Video) and the makers from releasing or telecasting it on any platform until the deletion of the said scene.
Vakeel Saab, which features actor Pawan Kalyan reprising the role of Amitabh Bachchan from the original film, is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The film also features Nivetha Thomas, Anjali, and Ananya Nagalla in prominent roles, alongside Shruti Haasan and Prakash Raj. It released in theatres on April 9.