Film based on Sushant Singh Rajput: Delhi High Court issues notice on appeal by the actor's father

Sushant Singh Rajput passed away on 14^th June 2020. An investigation about his demise is still going on, and a few films have been announced that claimed to be revolving around the actor’s life.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s father, Krishna Kishore Singh, had filed an appeal in Delhi High Court to put a stay on the films being made on the life of his son.

According to PTI, on Friday, the Delhi High Court issued notice on an appeal filed by KK Singh challenging a single judge's order refusing to stay the release of the movie Nyay: The Justice, or to restrain anyone from using his son's name or likeness in movies.

A vacation bench of Justices Anup Jairam Bhambhani and Jasmeet Singh sought response from the movie's director Dilip Gulati and producers Sarla Saraogi and Rahul Sharma and others.  However, the high court has refused to pass any interim order on the appeal by the actor’s father.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing Rajput's father, argued that the producer and the director of the film have commercially exploited the life story of Sushant who allegedly committed suicide at his residence in Mumbai last year.

Salve argued that the single judge has misdirected, misapplied, and misinterpreted the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Puttaswamy case (Right to Privacy).

The counsel appearing for the director of Nyay: The Justice told the court that the film has been released on the OTT platform named Lapalap original as scheduled. However, Salve stated, “This is some obscure platform and only god knows what kind of website is this”.

“The film is trying to portray his life. What exactly happened to him is still under investigation. You cannot jump the gun,” Salve said.

On 10^th June 2021, the single judge had refused to stay the release of several movies, including Nyay: The Justice, stating that these films are neither portrayed as biopic nor factual narration of what transpired in his life.

"Posthumous privacy right is not permissible", it had said in its interim order on a plea by Rajput's father to restrain such films.

Some of the upcoming or proposed films based on Sushant’s life are Suicide or Murder: A star was lost, Shashank, and an untitled crowd-funded film. It was said that the producers and directors claimed the films to be a fictional rendition of true events surrounding the lives of film/TV personalities, including Rajput who was found dead at his home in Mumbai. The investigation is still on.

The suit has claimed that in case a "movie, web-series, book or any other content of similar nature is allowed to be published or broadcasted, it would affect the right of the victim and deceased for a free and fair trial as it may cause prejudice to them".

It has also contended that Rajput being a well-known celebrity, "any misuse of his name/ image/ caricature/ style of delivering dialogues also amounts to infringement of the personality right vested with the plaintiff besides amounting to acts of passing off".

The contentions of Rajput's father have been opposed by the filmmakers of the upcoming and proposed movies.