The Bombay High Court recently denied Trishul Media’s request for immediate relief regarding credits in the film ‘Adipurush’.
The VFX studio claimed their entitlement to credits in the upcoming multilingual movie set to release on June 16, 2023.
During the proceedings before Justice RI Chagla’s single-judge bench, it was revealed that Super Cassettes Pvt Ltd (also known as T-series), a co-producer, was not included as a party in the lawsuit, despite being considered a necessary party.
Represented by advocate Mayur Khandekar, T-series argued that the court cannot address the plea for urgent relief, including a stay on the film’s release, without their involvement as a party.
Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, representing Trishul informed the bench that they no longer seek a stay on the film’s release.
Taking this into consideration, the judge allowed the defendants to file their responses and scheduled the next hearing for July 17, 2023.
Trishul’s lawsuit asserts that they had entered into VFX studio agreements with Retrophiles Private Limited, the film’s producer.
Trishul’s application also requested the payment of outstanding dues amounting to ₹4,77,31,321, which includes damages incurred by Trishul.
The application, filed by Gandhar Raikar and Sanket Singh, expressed concerns that the production company was potentially established solely for the purpose of producing the film and might be dissolved after its release.
According to Trishul, Retrophiles allegedly declined to provide any credits to them during discussions regarding the payment of dues.
Trishul argued that it would face challenges in enforcing its rights and receiving its dues once the film is released.
Based on this concern, Trishul submitted an application seeking urgent relief.
Trishul urged the court to direct Retrophiles to provide proper credit to the VFX studio in the film. Additionally, Trishul requested a stay on the film’s release until the required credits are appropriately incorporated into the movie.
In addition, Trishul requested an order for the deposit of the money owed to them as per the agreements between the parties.
Senior Advocate Ashish Kamath, representing Retrophiles and briefed by Naik Naik & Co., argued in court that Trishul had already received credit for character assets. To support his argument, Kamath submitted a photograph as evidence.
The court acknowledged the submission and recorded that the issue of providing credit had been addressed.
The court granted Retrophiles time to respond to Trishul’s request for payment of dues.
