Sanjay Dutt's The Good Maharaja Falls Prey To Controversy Before Shooting Starts
The Good Maharaja, Sanjay Dutt's next film after Bhoomi has landed in a legal mess. Read on for details...
After the
debacle of his comeback film Bhoomi, there's another bad news for Sanjay Dutt.
His next film, which is a biopic on Maharaja of Jamnagar, an Omung Kumar
directorial, has run into a legal trouble.
According to a
report in Mumbai Mirror, the daughters and legal heirs of the Maharaja, Hershad
Kumari and Himanshu Kumari, have sent a cease and desist notice to filmmaker
Omung Kumar, co-producer Sandeep Singh and their joint venture, Legend Studios.
"We have
learnt through print and social media that a film is being made based on the
life and events concerning the late Maharaja Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji
Ranjitsinhji who is the father of my clients, specifically the incident related
to the Polish refugees. The Maharaja was a public figure and if the facts are
distorted, it will tarnish his image. Hence, our clients have objection to the
film, as no permission is sought from them,' told Hershad Kumari and Himanshu
Kumari's lawyer Faranaz Kharabari to the newspaper.
Sanjay Dutt With Omung Kumar During Bhoomi Promotions
When asked to
comment, Sandeep Singh said, "Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji’s story is in
the public domain. Even today they celebrate Maharaja Day in Poland. I didn’t
think we were required to take the rights from his heirs. But now that we have
got this notice, Vikash Verma, our producer partner who has an office in
Poland, is looking into the matter. He is the one who is supposed to look into
government permission while Omung and I are focused on the creative aspects of
the film."
An irritated
Singh also added, "Today people are looking for free publicity. Whenever a
project is announced, someone or the other takes on the filmmaker,"
Titled as The
Good Maharaja, the film is about how the ruler of Nawanagar, a princely state
in British India, provided shelter to hundreds of abandoned Polish children
during the Second World War.
Image Source: Manav Manglani
