Dhamaal makers hit by ₹1.50 crore fraud case FIR over film rights; Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria respond

Veteran filmmaker Indra Kumar and producer Ashok Thakeria are facing an alleged ₹ 1.50 crore fraud case over the rights of their 2007 comedy Dhamaal . A Mumbai-based distributor has accused the duo of selling the film’s rights to his company even though some of those rights had allegedly already been given to another company. An FIR was registered on August 17 at Amboli Police Station after Vikas Baldevraj Sahni, owner of Mumbai-based film distribution company Grand Master, filed a complaint. The case has been registered under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deal with cheating and acts committed with common intention.

Following fraud allegations, Maruti International responded to the matter and said that discussions are currently underway to resolve the dispute. The company issued the following statement: “We are currently in discussions with the concerned party and the matter regarding the rights will be resolved mutually after further discussions.”

According to an NDTV report, Vikas Baldevraj Sahni alleged in his complaint that Grand Master signed an agreement with Maruti International, associated with Ashok Thakeria, on October 15, 2019. As part of the deal, the company paid ₹ 1.50 crore to acquire the permanent worldwide distribution, digital and copyright rights of Dhamaal.

Vikas claimed that he was assured that the film’s rights had not been sold to anyone else. However, he later allegedly found out that its lifetime OTT and digital rights had already been sold to Shemaroo Entertainment Limited in 2015, four years before Grand Master entered into the agreement.

The complaint states that Ashok Thakeria visited the distributor’s office in January 2020 and informed them about the earlier agreement with Shemaroo Entertainment. This, according to Grand Master, raised concerns over the rights deal the company had signed with Maruti International.

The complaint also alleges that Maruti International entered into a supplementary agreement with Shemaroo on October 29, 2020. As per the arrangement, the producer retained rights to the film for only one satellite channel. Around the same time, Grand Master had applied for the cinematograph copyright of Dhamaal on March 20, 2020. The Copyright Office issued the company a copyright certificate, CF-5230/2023, on April 28, 2023.

Vikas has further claimed that Grand Master currently holds the government-issued copyright certificate along with the original negative of the film. The company has also submitted documents to the authorities to support its claims.

The dispute over the film’s rights has allegedly caused major financial losses for Grand Master. Vikas claimed that several deals with leading digital platforms fell through because of the confusion over who actually held the rights, costing the company crores.

He had also sent a legal notice to the accused on January 2, 2023, seeking clarity on the matter. However, after receiving no satisfactory response, he approached the police, following which the FIR was registered.

Released in September 2007, Dhamaal featured Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaaferi and Riteish Deshmukh in key roles.