Wadia Movietone Takes Vishal Bhardwaj and ‘Rangoon’ to Court

There are troubled times ahead for the Saif-Kangana-Shahid starrer.

Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut in Rangoon.

Rangoon, starring Saif Ali Khan, Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan, has run into legal trouble. Film production firm Wadia Movietone Pvt. Ltd. has filed a commercial suit against director Vishal Bhardwaj and others in the Bombay High Court for copyright infringement.

According to a report by Mid-Day, Wadia Movietone holds sole rights to scripts, posters and publicity material for the films of Fearless Nadia - as the Australian actress Mary Evans who made it big in Bombay’s (now Mumbai) filmdom - is known. She was introduced to movies by brothers JBH and Homi Wadia Nadia.

Roy Wadia has, on behalf of the firm, alleged that the Rangoon makers have made a breach on trust and infringed on the copyrighted character, including her costume, poses, and even the catch phrase ‘Bloody Hell’. Nadia used the phrase all the time, and the first song that Rangoon‘s makers released was the foot-tapping number Bloody Hell. Wadia’s petition alleges that the film is nothing but an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the Fearless Nadia franchise.

We have filed a commercial suit. The matter comes up for hearing on February 20.

Priyanka Khamani, Counsel to Roy Wadia

The history of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Fearless Nadia project and his interaction with the Wadias goes back a long way.

Ronnie Screwvala of UTV approached Wadia in 2006 to make a film on Nadia. Things didn't materialise, but news emerged of UTV and Vishal making a similar film. But it was clarified to Wadia that the film would be called Julia and didn't have links to Nadia's story. Later, the project was shelved. Meanwhile, in 2008, Wadia got into an agreement with a German firm that could use all copyrighted material to make a movie on Nadia.

Seven years later, Wadia learnt through someone who had auditioned for a role that a film called Rangoon was being made around Nadia's character. Wadia informed the makers that the German firm held the copyright. Disney UTV, then headed by Siddharth Roy Kapur, confirmed to Wadia and the German firm that it was dropping the project.

In 2016, Rangoon was back in the news. But according to the filed petition, Vishal assured Wadia that it was a love story set in the 1940s against war but didn’t draw on Nadia’s character in any way.

However, according to a member of Rangoon’s cast, Kangana had Nadia as her reference point throughout,

Kangana was advised to watch Nadia’s <i>Hunterwali</i>, and the stylists told to reference her dressing for Kangana, who plays Julia. Some of the male characters also resemble those from Nadia’s life.

A member of Rangoon’s cast

Saif Ali Khan plays Rusi Billimoria, a suave filmmaker from the 1940s, madly in love with Julia. In real life, Nadia married Homi Wadia.

Vishal was going to helm the original project planned by UTV Disney and it was to star German actress Franka Potente. But the project fell through because of casting problems. To the Wadias, it seems that <i>Rangoon </i>is the same film now revived, for which they haven’t been consulted or credited. Roy divides his time between New York and Bangkok. In the second week of February, he flew down to Mumbai to discuss details of the case before taking a final decision on the matter.

A source close to Wadias

(Source: Mid-Day)