| BR Films denies plagiarism charges  Bollywood production house B.R. Films has denied plagiarism allegations
made by Hollywood studio Twentieth Century Fox for lifting the latter's
film "My Cousin Vinny" for a Hindi spin-off "Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai"
(pictured above). Fox has moved B.R. Films to court and is
alleging plagiarism and copyrights violation. The Hollywood house has
even sought Rs.7 crore (Rs.70 million) as damage charges and an
injunction against the release of "Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai". Sanjay Bhutiani, CEO, B.R. Films has however denied all allegations saying that "they have made an original film". "We
(B.R. Films) believe in good business ethics and we have permission in
writing from the legal team representing Fox from Los Angeles dating
back to October 2007 (two years ago) so that we could Indianise the
idea (of 'My Cousin Vinny') with different characters, treatments and
backdrops within permissible limits, etc," Bhutiani told IANS over
phone from Mumbai. "We also shared our script with them (Fox)
a couple of months ago, as they wanted to see it but they have come out
with the lawsuit only when the film was ready to release. We are kind
of blackmailed at this point of time," he added. Clarifying
the stand, filmmaker Ravi Chopra said in a statement Tuesday: "I am
shocked to see that they (Fox) have been quiet on this for two years
and have now picked up the matter. This is something one does not
really expect from a reputed company like Twentieth Century Fox." The
matter will come up for hearing on May 7 in Bombay High court after
which a decision will be taken on the release of the film. "BR
Films is a brand and has a history of its own and we are going to
defend the case. Every problem has a solution and the film will
definitely release," said Bhutiani. Starring Govinda, Sushmita
Sen and Tabu in the lead, "Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai" was otherwise slated
to release this summer but was postponed for a later release courtesy
the Indian Premier League (IPL). Indo-Asian News Service |
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