In 2013, a film starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu was released, which has not been released on OTT and TV even after 13 years. Know about this film and the biggest controversy related to it.
The pairing of actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu and director Nandini Reddy is in the news these days due to the success of ‘Ma Inti Bangaram’. But very few people know that this successful partnership started with a controversial project which created a huge legal storm in the Telugu film industry. ‘Jabardasth’, released in 2013, was accused of copying the story of the Hindi film ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’. The case reached the court and the decision was so strict that the film could not be re-released on TV, DVD, Satellite or any other format after its theatrical release. Today this case is counted among the most talked about copyright disputes of Indian cinema.
How did the Samantha-Nandini Reddy partnership begin?
Director Nandini Reddy had announced ‘Jabardasth’ in 2011 after the success of her first film ‘Ala Modalaindi’. Made under the banner of producer Bellamkonda Suresh, the film starred Siddharth, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen in the lead roles. The story of the film revolved around two friends, who together start a wedding planning business. Later, complications arise in their partnership due to relationships and emotions.
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‘Jabardasth’ controversy started even before its release
The 150-minute long story of ‘Jabardasth’ reminded people of the 2010 Hindi superhit film ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ right from the beginning. Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma starrer, this film was directed by Manish Sharma and produced by Yash Raj Films. According to reports, Yash Raj Films had already expressed their objection to the team of ‘Jabardasth’ and advised them to stop the project. However, the makers continued working on the film. At that time, Nandini Reddy rejected the allegations of similarity, saying that the film was not inspired by any one movie, but by the broader concept of a wedding planner.
The magic of ‘Jabardasth’ did not work at the box office
The makers had high expectations from ‘Jabardasth’, released in 2013. The audio and satellite rights of the film were already sold for approximately Rs 5.25 crore. But after the theatrical release, the film could not perform well at the box office. Many critics also described its story and many scenes as similar to ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’.
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Delhi High Court gives historic verdict on ‘Jabardasth’
After the release of the film, Yash Raj Films approached the Delhi High Court. The petition claimed that about 19 scenes of the film have been directly lifted from ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’. After hearing the case, the court accepted that this is not just a case of inspiration, but a case of copyright infringement. The court ordered that the film could not be released in any other medium after its theatrical run. After the decision, DVD, VCD, Blu-ray and television telecast of ‘Jabardasth’ was banned. Not only this, the Tamil dubbed version of the film ‘Dum Dum Pee Pee’ could also not be released.
Controversy increases the troubles of the producer of ‘Jabardasth’
It is said that before the court’s decision, the TV rights of the film had been sold to a channel. When the channel could not broadcast the film legally, a dispute arose over payment. According to reports, the case went on for years and in 2019, there were reports of an arrest warrant being issued against the producer over unpaid dues.
Luck changed again, Samantha – Nandini became a superhit pair.
After ‘Jabardasth’, Samantha and Nandini Reddy did not work together for almost six years. But in 2019, both of them released ‘Oh! Made a comeback through ‘Baby’ and the film proved to be a big hit. Now their third film with ‘Ma Inti Bangaram’ is also being considered successful.