Zee Entertainment, in a statement made before the Bombay High Court on Friday, said that it will defer the broadcast of the Hindi television serial Baal Shiv- Mahadev Ki Andekhi Gatha till September 15 in connection with the copyright infringement case filed against makers of the show by an Indian mythologist Chotenlal Saini, Bar and Bench reported.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court had ordered Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited to either make a statement immediately that the series will not be released till the matter is heard or face a court order restraining the release of the series, based on a copyright infringement case filed by Saini. Saini had moved the High Court alleging copyright violation, seeking an order of injunction against Zee and restraining them from releasing the series.
Baal Shiv- Mahadev Ki Andekhi Gatha, which was previously set to premiere on &TV, a Hindi language entertainment channel owned by Zee Entertainment on August 31, narrates the “untold and unseen story of Lord Shiva’s childhood”. The makers took down the teaser video from YouTube on Friday afternoon.
Terming it as a case of piracy, Saini stated in his petition that he was the first person to conceptualise the idea of Baal Shiv and had plans of eventually making it into a television serial which he had discussed with the representatives of Zee under express confidentiality. According to Saini, despite several narrations, Zee did not show any interest in producing the serial after which he tried approaching other channels to pitch the idea and had also registered the title under the Trademarks Act. But, Saini said, he later found Zee’s official announcement that it is going to air the serial.
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“The concepts/idea of ‘Baal Shiv’ itself was a unique selling prospect because the same is not contemplated at all in Indian mythology,” Saini stated in the complaint.
The court observed that “A radical concept which conceptualises a mythological character in this fashion, is something which the writer has thought of. You not only took it from him, but did all this behind his back. You either take an injunction or make a statement.”
The court had also ordered Zee’s representative to get instructions from the management on the credit or royalty to be given to Saini in the case.