Govinda’s trouble

Sarkar 3 was recently released on May 12 2017, despite certain legal issues between the two parties namely Narendra Hirawat & Co. (NH) (“Appellant”), and Alumbra Entertainment and Ors., including K Sera Sera (KSS), Z Picture Company (ZPC) and RGV Film Factory (RGV) (“Respondents”). The case revolved around the rights of making this movie which is part of the franchise of Sarkar releasing in 2005. It was said that the rights granted did not include the right to make this sequel whereas the respondents argued that Sarkar 3 was a sequel to ‘Sarkar Raj’.

There were mainly two agreements. They were between KSS, NH AND ZPC and KSS AND NH. They clearly demarcated the rights given to the parties. In the first agreement, KSS have all the rights or copyright, trademark to ZPC for ‘Sarkar Raj including right to make sequels. Hence it could no longer have right over it. In the second agreement KSS gave the above rights to NH with regard to ‘Sarkar.’ It only came in in 2009. Hence NH could remake ‘Sarkar’ but not make a sequel since all rights to sequels were with ZTP. Nor did it have any rights over ‘Sarkar Raj’.   Therefore the claim that was put by the respondent with regard to ZTP making sequels was rejected by the Court.  The court relied upon the contractual terms of Agreement I and II . A, the single judge bench too in its decision had clarified that a right to ‘remake’ a film does not include the right to make a ‘sequel’ or a ‘prequel’ of a film.