A copyright case has been filed against Kangana Ranaut’s upcoming reality show Lock Upp by Sanober Baig, a businessman based in Hyderabad.
He approached the city’s civil court claiming that the Ekta Kapoor show is based on his registered idea for a show called The Jail.
The court has consequently restrained the makers of Lock Upp from streaming the show on any platform. Lock Upp was scheduled to stream on AltBalaji and MX Player from Sunday.
Baig has alleged that he had shared the concept for the show with Endemol Shine India’s Abhishek Rege, who “backstabbed and ditched” him. Talking to Indian Express, Baig said, “I registered my idea with the association back in 2018. I then got a director Shantanu Re to work with me on the same. We had even pitched this idea to Star Plus but nothing worked out. And then, due to the pandemic, things got further delayed. I have been in touch with Abhishek Rege for a long time and had several meetings about the subject in Hyderabad. He promised that once the market got better, we would get going. A week back, I saw my dreams turned into someone else’s reality.”
The businessman said that he approached the civil court as soon as he saw the promos for Ranaut’s show last week. He also alleged that even minute details from his concept were stolen by the makers of Lock Upp, including things like having a jailer, contestants in costumes, and the set design.
“I have a lot of money as I am a successful builder in Hyderabad. As for fame, I am not a politician or public figure that being in the news will help me in any way. It’s not just about me or my huge monetary loss, there’s a whole team that has worked on the show. They have given their time and effort, which can never be brought back. I want justice for all of them,” he further told the news publication.
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Meanwhile, on Saturday, Kapoor revealed the name of the fifth confirmed contestant on the show. She took to Instagram and shared that television actor Karanvir Bohra will be joining Poonam Pandey, Nisha Rawal, Munawar Faruqui, and Babita Phogat in the reality show. While earlier promos stated that the show will release on January 27, the newer promos do not mention a premiere date.
Update: The Telangana High Court set aside the injunction of the civil court against releasing, exhibiting, and publishing Lock Upp and allowed it to be streamed online. The show thus started its live stream on the previously-mentioned date, February 27. The High Court noted that while the concept of The Jail and Lock Upp were similar, the makers of the latter had already produced it, spent money on it, and even set a live stream date. Thus, the injunction was set aside and the streaming was allowed.