A Mumbai civil court recently ruled against a petition to delay the release of the Hindi film Dhurandhar 2 on OTT platforms, a decision arising from a plagiarism lawsuit filed by writer Santosh Kumar RS against the filmmakers, Aditya Dhar & Ors. [Santosh Kumar RS v. Aditya Dhar & Ors.].
Judge’s Decision and Case Details
Presiding over the case, Ad-hoc Judge Yunus MD Hanif Kharadi concluded that Kumar did not present sufficient preliminary evidence of any copying or urgency that would justify immediate interim relief. Judge Kharadi pointed out that Kumar failed to demonstrate any significant similarities between his work and the film’s scripts or dialogues. The court noted that the first installment of the movie premiered in December 2025, followed by a sequel, and that the OTT release was set for domestic platforms. However, Kumar did not include the OTT distributor as a party in the proceedings, weakening his position.
In the ruling, Judge Kharadi stated, “Prima facie, Kumar has not made out the case to show the similarity of script and dialogues. The movie was already released in December 2025, and the sequel has also been released. Today, there is a domestic release on the OTT platform, but Kumar has not made the OTT platform a party to this case. Therefore, the balance of convenience does not favor him. Granting ad-interim relief to Kumar would cause irreparable loss to the filmmakers.”
Potential Outcomes and Legal Representation
The court also emphasized that if Kumar were to succeed in the suit, he would have the opportunity to seek monetary compensation, negating any claim of irreparable harm. Kumar had previously alleged that the filmmakers used his story and dialogues without consent, as he had earlier communicated the story to them via email, insisting that no work should proceed without a formal agreement.
Nevertheless, the court observed that Kumar failed to provide any comparative analysis of the scripts or dialogues to substantiate his plagiarism claims. Moreover, his failure to include the OTT platform in the lawsuit was a significant procedural oversight, particularly when his request was to halt the film’s release on that very platform.
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The defense team for Dhar and B62 Studios comprised Advocates VK Dubey, Chirag Mody, Parag Khandhar, Chandrima Mitra, Tapan Radkar, and Zara Dhanbhoora, briefed by DSK Legal. Jio Studios was represented by Advocates Sushma Singh, Ashwin Unrikar, and Priyal Gandhi, with legal guidance from SHS Chamber. T-Series’ legal representation was provided by Advocate Vinayika Shahi, briefed by Naik Naik & Co.
The court’s decision underscores the importance of presenting a well-substantiated case and including all necessary parties in legal proceedings to ensure the possibility of obtaining interim relief.
