A production company seeks a stay on Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal's OTT release.
Claiming to be the co-producers of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal, Cine 1 Studios Private Limited has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court alleging that T-Series did not pay its share in the film’s intellectual property rights.
Cine1 Studios Private Limited argues that the two production houses entered into an agreement to produce the film under which it had a 35 percent profit share and was entitled to 35 percent intellectual property rights in the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal. However, claiming a breach of various clauses in a 2019 Acquisition Agreement signed with T-Series, Cine 1 has requested that the film should not be released on Netflix.
Cine 1 Studios alleged that T-series incurred expenses for making, promoting, and releasing the film, received revenues at the box office sales without sharing any details of the same and no money was given to them despite the profit sharing agreement. Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared for Cine1 and stated, "Hey (T-Series) have been collecting all the money but I have not been paid a single penny... I have a long relationship with them but they do not respect the agreement. I had the regard for the relationship and the sanctity of the contract, therefore, I did not rush to court."
On the other hand, Senior Advocate Amit Sibal appeared for T-Series. He said that Cine 1 Studios did not invest a single penny in Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal and added that according to an amendment made on August 2, 2022, Cine 1 Studios gave up all their intellectual property rights for Rs 2.6 crore. He said, "This amendment has been concealed. They got ₹2.6 crore. They have not put a pie in the movie and yet got ₹2.6 crores."
However, after examining the amendment, when the court asked Sethi and the briefing counsel whether they were aware of this, they replied in negative because of which the court adjourned the case till Thursday.
In its application for interim relief, Cine 1 has sought a stay on the release of the film on Netflix till the T-series complies with the terms of the agreement. Sethi said, "In this plaint (in the lawsuit), he has concealed all this and in the very first paragraph he asserts that he is 35 percent owner of the intellectual property rights in the film, and on this basis, he seeks an interim prayer that the release on Netflix should be stopped because he is part owner of the copyright of the film."
Helmed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Animal is a revenge drama starring Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Siddhant Karnick, and Triptii Dimri along with others in key roles. The film proved to be a blockbuster at the box office and collected over Rs 900 crore at the box office.
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 "Animal OTT release faces legal hurdle")
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