CourtsDelhi High Court
'Doosra' goes ahead with release after Delhi High Court refuses Sourav Ganguly's plea for a stay
Justice Dinesh Bhatt declined urgent interim relief on Thursday and kept the former India captain's personality-rights suit for further hearing on Friday, the film's release day.
Key points
- Justice Dinesh Bhatt refused to stay the release, saying: "No stay."
- Ganguly and Luv Films say the film exploits his identity and undercuts an authorised biopic.
- The makers say *Doosra* is not a biopic and that the match footage was licensed.
Doosra, a film whose trailer leans heavily on footage of Sourav Ganguly, was set for release in cinemas on Friday after the Delhi High Court refused to stop its release on a suit by the former India captain alleging that the film exploits his personality without his permission.
“I am simply keeping it for tomorrow. No stay,” Justice Dinesh Bhatt said on Thursday evening, declining to pass urgent interim orders on the suit filed by Ganguly and Luv Films LLP against the producers, director Abhinay Deo, the production companies and distributor PVR INOX.
Ganguly’s case
Ganguly’s counsel told the court that no licence had been taken from him and called him the film’s “pseudo hero”. About a third of the trailer, she said, uses footage of Ganguly, and the director has referred to him in an interview. The suit says the film draws on his captaincy, his achievements and the 2002 NatWest Series moment at Lord’s.
Luv Films says it signed an exclusive agreement in 2021 to develop a biographical film on Ganguly, has finished shooting and has licensed rights to third parties. It argues that Doosra’s promotion trades on Ganguly’s identity and goodwill and could undermine the authorised biopic.
The makers’ reply
The defendants told the court that Doosra is not a biopic but the story of a girl from Rajasthan who draws inspiration from Ganguly. They said the NatWest Series footage had been licensed from the BCCI or its authorised rights holder, and that the player has no rights over that footage.
The court did not give detailed reasons on Thursday. With the release going ahead, the suit continues before Justice Bhatt on whether Ganguly is entitled to any interim relief.