Zandu balm in 'Dabangg' item song gives no relief to manufacturer

Dabangg’s Munni may have become badnaam to get the cash registers ringing, and cinema-goers may be going crazy over her becoming the soothing Zandu balm, but manufacturer Zandu Pharmaceuticals’ ache is refusing to subside.

The company has dashed off a notice, dated September 17, to Arbaaz Khan Productions Private Limited claiming it is the sole copyright holder of “not only the product, but as also the name Zandu balm”. It has asked the producers to withdraw the song or delete the name of the product from it, failing which the firm has threatened civil and criminal action against the producers.

The notice sent by Zandu’s counsel Ashok M Saraogi to Arbaaz Khan, his partner and wife Malaika Arora (Munni in the movie), Shri Ashtavinayak Cinemas Ltd, and director Abhinav Kashyap, points out, “My clients are in the business of producing and marketing various ayurvedic and other medicines including a popular product known as Zandu balm, which is a very common word used by the people, since it is commonly used for pain and related complaints.”

The notice says the company has copyright to the product and the name Zandu balm, and no one else is entitled to use the name expect the firm. Emphasising how the firm’s owners were shocked when they heard the song from the blockbuster Dabangg, the notice adds, “In the song, the name Zandu balm has been used continuously at various places. By using the brand name in the song, you have not only violated the copyright of my clients, but you have also made an attempt to defame the reputation of my clients and the product manufactured by them.” 

While Salman Khan is Norway, his brother and producer of the movie Arbaaz (who also plays Makkhi) told DNA on Friday that he had not received any notice from Zandu Pharmaceuticals. “I will respond when I receive such a notice. As of now, we are all enjoying the well-earned success of our film,” he added.

This is not the film’s first brush with controversy. Soon after it released to record-breaking opening last week, in a promotional interview to a Pakistani channel Salman Khan courted trouble over his comments on the 26/11 terror attacks, only to apologise later.
Many Bollywood watchers, however, insist these controversies don’t matter any more since movie is already a hit.