Jhund: Amitabh Bachchan, Nagraj Manjule film in legal row over copyright infringement

Amitabh Bachchan’s upcoming film, Jhund, has caught up in legal trouble. Hyderabad-based filmmaker Nandi Chinni Kumar has sent legal notices to Jhund’s director Najraj Manjule and Bachchan on the grounds of copyright infringement. Kumar, an independent filmmaker, sent the notices to Jhund director and producer,  Nagraj Manjule, producer Krishan Kumar, T-Series Chairman and Managing Director Bhushan Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Slum Soccer founder Vijay Barse, on whose life the film is said to be based on, reports News18. [caption id=“attachment_6110631” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] First look of Jhund | File Image[/caption] Kumar claims that he bought exclusive rights in 2017 to make a movie on the life of Akhilesh Paul, a slum soccer player who was the Indian captain at the Homeless World Cup. He adds that he had planned to write and direct the multilingual movie tentatively titled ‘Slum Soccer.’ Kumar further alleges that he was cheated and criminally intimidated by makers of the film, and now he plans to move the court to stop screening of the movie in theatres, television and all digital platforms. “Though Nagaraj Manjule, director of Marathi blockbuster Sairat, bought rights to make a movie on the life of Vijay Barse, who is the coach of Akhilesh Paul, his film Jhund’ also showcases Akhilesh’s story in a major role, thus allegedly violating the copyrights.” says Kumar to Indo Asian News Service. He further adds that  Manjule claimed to have bought rights from Akhilesh Paul for Rs 4 lakh but was reluctant to show the documents. The short filmmaker claims to have  registered the story and script with Telangana Cinema Writers Association on 11 June, 2018. Kumar claims that despite sending mails to Bachchan and the producers, there has been no reply. The filmmaker told IANS that he got the reply to the notice only from T-Series but it is ‘very vague’. Kumar says that he also urged the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) not to issue censor certificate to the movie Jhund.