The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to stop the theatre release of the film ‘Doosra’ on October 23 on a plea filed by cricketer Sourav Ganguly . A vacation bench of Justice Dinesh Bhatt orally observed that the ‘balance of convenience’ favours the makers of ‘Doosra’, stated to be the story of a middle-class Rajasthani girl inspired by certain sporting events involving the former India captain. ‘Balance of convenience’ is a legal test used by courts to decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction, by weighing the potential harm to the plaintiff if an injunction is denied and to the defendant if it is granted.
“This is blackmailing on the last day,” said the filmmakers’ counsel, informing the court that over a hundred theatres have been booked and advance payments have been made. He and his life are the main theme of the movie,” Ganguly’s counsel said, offering to pay the “advance booking amount” to defer the release. Balance of convenience prima facie does not favour you. Besides Ganguly, Luv Films LLP, which is producing a biopic of the former cricket captain, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “The movie (Doosra) is being promoted on Sourav Ganguly. Sourav Ganguly is the actual hero of the movie.
“It is due for release tomorrow (Friday). You may have a valuable right. (But) We are not stopping the film today,” the judge orally told the plaintiff.
The defendants’ counsel contended that a player cannot claim “personality right” over clippings of the 2002 NatWest series. He said the plaintiffs are yet to watch the movie and all their apprehensions are based on assumptions.
