Notice to filmmakers over copyright issue

JAIPUR: A local court here on Wednesday asked the makers of Akshay Kumar starrer “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” to file a reply to the charge of violation of the Copyright Act by July 31.
Jaipur-based film makers Pratik Sharma and Asmita Sharma have sent a legal notice to “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” makers. They alleged that makers of the film lifted cue from their film “Gutrun Gutar Gun”, which is releasing in the first week of August this year.
A copyright infringement case was filed against the producers on July 7 in a Jaipur Metropolitan Court.
Sharma alleged that the makers have lifted the punchline and the subject from his film “Gutrun Gutar Gun”.
“Jaipur Metropolitan Court has asked to file a reply or begin arguments in the case of copyright violation by 11 am July 31,” G D Bansal, advocate of Sharma, said here.
The court had earlier issued a notice on July 22. But as a strike by the clerical staff was going on in Rajasthan, the court gave the respondents July 26 as a new date for filing their reply.
But today also the respondents failed to file reply, said Bansal “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha”, directed by Shree Narayan Singh, deals with the need of sanitization in India and is based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign. It features Bhumi Pednekar and Akshay Kumar.
“Though our film is ready for the last two years and we had obtained certification from the Censor Board in August 2015, we couldn’t release it due to financial constraints,” said Pratik Sharma.
As a promotional tool, they have been doing test runs at film festivals and for select audiences, he said.