Maidaan plagiarism row: Makers to move Karnataka high court against order ‘restraining’ the release of Ajay Devgn’s film

Scriptwriter Anil Kumar recently accused the makers of Maidaan of plagiarism and sought legal action in Mysore's district court.

Ajay Devgn starrer Maidaan opened to rave reviews but low box office numbers on day one. (Photo: Ajay Devgn/Instagram)

As Ajay Devgn’s Maidaan hit theaters today, the makers of the film found themselves entangled in a legal dispute. A court in Mysore put a ‘stay order’ on the film’s release after allegations of plagiarism by scriptwriter Anil Kumar, based in Karnataka. Kumar claimed that he shared his script with an assistant director on Maidaan, but their discussions about making the film didn’t go anywhere. Maidaan tells the story of coach SA Rahim and his football team’s success at the 1962 Asian Games.

Taking to his Linkedin handle, Kumar revealed that he started writing the story of his film in 2010. In 2018, he shared a poster about it and got in touch with assistant director Sukhdas Suryavanshi through LinkedIn. Suryavanshi invited him to Mumbai and asked for the script. Kumar claims to have the chat history as proof. He couldn’t meet Aamir Khan, as promised by Suryavanshi, due to some reasons. Kumar then gave him the story and registered it with the Screen Writers Association.

He added, “Recently, I heard that a movie named Maidaan is getting released. I was surprised because even I have the same story. When I looked at the teaser and their statements, I got to know that it was my story. They have twisted the main story itself and made this movie. I named the story Paadakanduka.”

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Boney Kapoor’s Bayview Projects LLP issued a statement and said, “Dear all, we have just been served the copy of the Order of the District Judge restraining the release of the film. At the outset, we would like to place on record that the said order passed by the District Judge is an ex-parte order, without giving us an opportunity of being heard.”

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The maker’s statement mentioned they hadn’t received any notice before the lawsuit was filed or heard. They also noted the order came after the film’s release, making it legally ineffective to stop the release. They plan to appeal the order in the High Court of Karnataka and seek urgent relief.

Also read | Maidaan movie review: Ajay Devgn film makes you want to clap, cheer and shed a proud tear

Helmed by Amit Sharma, the film also stars Priyamani, Gajraj Rao, and Rudranil Ghosh in important roles. Maidaan clashed with Akshay Kumar starrer Bade Miyan Chote Miyan at the box office.

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