The makers of the highest grossing film in India, Sholay, will take legal action against the international environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO), Greenpeace, for gross violation of copyright and trademark, and for the wrongful use of its characters.
“Greenpeace’s animation is a violation of trademark copyright and underlying rights. They have insinuated that Gabbar is anti-environment and have associated Sholay and all its characters in negative light. We, the owners of the characters, do not support Greenpeace’s views,” Sascha Sippy, chairman, Sholay Media and Entertainment, told DNA over the telephone from Mumbai.
In the 35-year-old blockbuster, Gabbar Singh was modeled as a real-life dacoit who menaced villages and terrorised the police around Gwalior in the 1950s.
“It is very irresponsible for an NGO to violate intellectual property rights of India’s most famous film and tarnish the image of our legendary characters,” Sippy said.
Sholay, released in Mumbai on August 15, 1975, had racked up a still-standing record of 60 golden jubilees (50 consecutive weeks) across India. It was a lavish production that took two and a half years to make, and overshot its budget. It grossed about Rs35 crore in its first run, a record that remained unbroken for many years together.
Sippy said they had noticed the video nearly 10 days back. “The NGO has no right to show the characters of our film, which was the film of the millennium, in bad light,” Sippy said.
The Sholay director’s move was prompted after DNA reported that the NGO was facing a defamation case by the Tatas for promoting the online video game Turtle vs Tata. The suit demanded damages of Rs10 crore from Greenpeace, for defamation and wrongful use of the Tata trademark in their game.
Greenpeace’s Pac-Man-style video game was inspired by the conflict in Orissa between the endangered Olive Ridley turtles and Tata Steel’s deep water port in the area. In the game, which was launched by the NGO about a month back to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man, the player is a turtle that has to eat as much healthy food as it can while avoiding the ‘Tata demons’ that threaten its home.
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