Raees row: Don Abdul Latif's son warns makers he will take them to court once film releases

There seems to be no end to the problems faced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees. [caption id=“attachment_3168854” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shah Rukh Khan in and as ‘Raees’[/caption] While Khan managed to ensure his upcoming release (directed by Rahul Dholakia and co-produced by Farhan Akhtar-Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment and SRK’s banner Red Chillies) would not be opposed by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, and its chief Raj Thackeray, a new court case might present a hurdle for the superstar. According to report published by Mid Day, Mushtaq Sheikh — the son of Gujarat-based gangster Abdul latif, on whom the character of Raees Aslam in SRK’s film is allegdly based — has warned the makers of the film that he will approach the courts once the film is released. He had previously filed a Rs 100 crore defamation case in April against SRK, Dholakia, and Excel. Possibly in a bid to avert legal complications, the Raees team had issued a statement clarifying that the film (and the character of raees Aslam, as portrayed by Shah Rukh Khan) was not based on any person, living or dead. “It is an imagined crime thriller set against the backdrop of Gujarat,” the statement read. The Mid Day report states that the court asked Mushtaq to wait until the film’s release (before considering action against the Raees team). Mushtaq’s contention was the makers of the film met his family but never told them that Abdul Latif would be shown engaging in the flesh trade and using women to sell  liquor (Latif rose to prominence as a bootlegger in Gujarat, a ‘dry’ state) in the film. It was only after watching the trailers of the film that Latif’s family realised that his image was being tarnished, Mushtaq has alleged. Also read: Who was Abdul Latif and what’s the controversy over Shah Rukh Khan’s portrayal of him in Raees?