Filmmaker Hansal Mehta and producer Bhushan Kumar have been asked by the Delhi High Court to appear on 28 October in connection with their film Faraaz, as per a report by Hindustan Times.
The report states that families of the two victims of the 2016 Dhaka terrorist attack, Tarishi Jain and Abinta Kabir, have filed a case against the makers. They have alleged that the film's name is the same as the girls' best friend Faraaz.
"Faraaz was also a victim of the attack. Hansal Mehta's film is named Faraaz, and we sent a legal notice to them because we think that our makers are going to portray my clients' daughters as well but they haven't taken any consent. This is an infringement on the right to privacy", Yatin Grover, representing the families, told Hindustan Times.
Grover also said that the response of the makers was 'vague'. "The makers said that they are going to refer to the material that is available in public domain. Thus we went to the court, and they listened to our arguments and went through the documents they have. We haven't asked for an injunction as the makers of Faraaz haven't announced a release date or dropped the trailer. We asked for a special screening to make sure that nothing portrayed is wrong".
Grover further said that in interviews the makers have stated that the film is based on true events, while in response to the notice they said it's a fictionalised version of the attack and has no connection to the girls.
Hansal Mehta took to Twitter to write, "I will not respond to this outside the honourable court. I will not compromise the dignity of my film or it’s story. Friends from media who are trying to get in touch with me on this please note."
Faraaz acts as the debut film for late actor Shashi Kapoor’s grandson Zahan Kapoor, and also features Paresh Rawal’s son Aditya Rawal, who made his debut with the film Bamfaad.
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