SPB CHARAN WINS A CASE FOR AARANYA KAANDAM FILED BY THIAGARAJAN KUMARARAJA!

Aaranya Kaandam directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja was produced by SPB Charan of Capital Film Works. The production house had won a case filed against them by Kumararaja who was given his debut chance to direct the said movie. The judgment was passed yesterday (8th September) in favor of Capital Film Works.

According to the lawyers (Ms.Kavitha Deenadayalan and Mr. Vadivelu Deenadayalan) representing the case for Capital Film Works:

“Thiagarajan Kumararaja had filed a case before the Madras High Court against the production house in 2012 restraining it from remaking or dubbing the film in any language as, according to him, the producer did not have the right to dub or remake the movie in any other language.

There was an ex- parte interim injunction given, initially, in favor of the director which was later fought out by Capital Film Works and the said interim injunction was vacated. This order was challenged by the director before the Division Bench of the Madras High Court which, after hearing both parties in detail, gave its judgment in favor of the producers. This order, as well, was challenged by Kumararaja before the Supreme Court of India which did not grant any interim protection and directed the Madras High Court to conduct and conclude the case in a time bound manner.

Finally, the final arguments of the case were presented by the counsels for both parties on September 1st, 2016 and the judgment was reserved.

The said judgment was pronounced yesterday, September 8, 2016 by the Madras High Court which observed that in the absence of an agreement restraining the producer in any manner, the movie as a whole belongs to the producer and there is no copyright infringement whatsoever (Section 13 and 14 of the Copyright Act).

In his case, Kumararaja had pleaded that he has given a one-time permissive license to the producer that he can utilize the script. But the court ruled that the script writer has a right over his story only when there is a proper agreement executed between him and the producer retaining his right over the script.  The court also observed that the claim of the plaintiff (Kumararaja) that he has given a one-time permissive license to the producer has not been substantiated with any evidence. 

Recalling the movie's cult nature, we cannot forget the fact that the movie bagged four national awards and critical acclaims, including the National Award for the Best Producer for giving Debut chance to a director.

We believe we can look forward to enjoying more of Aaranya Kanadam in the near future”.

Producer SPB Charan adds, “I am happy that the case is over now. It just reiterates the fact that producers do have the authority over the films they make. I would also like to emphasize that things should be put on paper and agreements should be drawn properly. Capital Film Works will continue to encourage debutants and I don’t mind extending warm hands to Kumararaja to team up again”.