HC orders Ram Gopal Varma to pay Rs 10L for Sholay rip-off

A flop remake of iconic film Sholay, attempted by director Ram Gopal Varma has come to haunt him nearly a decade later. The Delhi High Court has ordered Varma to cough up Rs 10 lakhs as punitive damages to the Sippy family for copying portions of the all time blockbuster for Varma’s 'Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag.'Justice Manmohan Singh in his recent order concluded that Varma’s movie “distorted and mutilated the original copyright work of the plaintiffs.” He said Varma also “infringed the moral rights” of the original movie makers by producing and releasing it without authorization from the owner and author.READ: Ram Gopal Varma questions Lord Ganesha on TwitterThe publicity material of RGV Ki Aag gives an overall impression that it is a remake of the film Sholay, HC added, saying that use of similar plot and characters in the film coupled with use of the underlying music, lyrics and background score and even dialogues from the original film Sholay amounts to infringement of copyright.“Even if the impugned film is considered as an adaptation of the film Sholay, the same being without authorization of the copyright owner amounts to passing off as the plaintiffs are the owner of the names of characters and dialogues,” it observed while awarding damages.Varma’s movie had a troubled run from the start when Sippys moved court objecting to the release. In 2006 Varma submitted an affidavit agreeing that he will change the name of the remake to 'Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag' and change the names of characters.Sippy Films had filed a suit against Varma's production company for infringement of their trademark. They told court that 'Sholay' has become a brand name in itself and by virtue of its prolonged usage, acquired a secondary meaning.Sippys had contended that the script and screenplay of Sholay are the original literary work, protected under the sections 14 and 51 of the Copyright Act of 1957. The catchy and popular words had been registered under the statutory provisions of both the Copyright Act and the Trademark Act, said the petition.@TOIEntertainTOIEntertaintimesofindiaThe Times of India Entertainment

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