Panorama Studios International, which had acquired the rights of the Hindi remake of the Malayalam hit film Drishyam 2 has now assured the Bombay High Court that they would not begin shooting for the film until the time the copyright suit filed against it is pending. Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd had approached the HC seeking a restraining order on Panorama Studios International from producing any sequel to the movie in Hindi language.
In its legal suit, Viacom alleged infringement of their copyright and sought recognition and adjudication of copyright and other rights in the production of the sequel in the Drishyam franchise which includes a film on continuation from the previous story.
In its order, the HC said, "The statement is that the defendants (Panorama) will not themselves or through any other person with whom they may have a contract or arrangement, begin shooting of the film in question i.e. a sequel to the film Drishyam".
The HC also noted that if the production house undertakes any pre-production work such as developing the script, screenplays or dialogue, then it will be at their own risk and that they will not be entitled to claim any equities on that basis in the future.
The 2015 film Drishyam which was a remake of the Malayalam film of the same title released in 2013 was a massive hit. The film starred Ajay Devgn, Tabu, and Shriya Saran. The Malayalam language sequel of the film was released in February this year and was a huge hit.
Viacom, in its suit, said it had executed a Remake Rights Agreement with Wide Angle Creations and Raj Kumar Theatres Pvt Ltd by which it had copyright to produce new films by adapting the movie Drishyam.
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