Maruti International has issued an official statement amid an alleged Rs 1.50 crore fraud case involving director Indra Kumar and producer Ashok Thakeria over the rights of the 2007 comedy film Dhamaal. An FIR was reportedly registered against the filmmaker duo on August 17 following a complaint filed by Vikas Baldevraj Sahni, owner of Mumbai-based film distribution company Grand Master.
The controversy centres on an agreement allegedly signed between Grand Master and Maruti International on October 15, 2019. According to the complaint, the deal involved the worldwide distribution, digital rights and copyrights of Dhamaal, which stars Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaaferi and Riteish Deshmukh. The reported value of the deal was Rs 1.50 crore.
Following reports about the case, Maruti International, associated with Ashok Thakeria, has broken its silence on the matter. In its official statement, the company said, “We are currently in discussions with the concerned party and the matter regarding the rights will be resolved mutually after further discussions.”
According to allegations cited in reports, Sahni claimed that his company was initially assured that the rights to Dhamaal had not been sold to another party. However, he later allegedly discovered that the film’s lifetime OTT and digital rights had already been sold to Shemaroo Entertainment in 2015, four years before Grand Master’s agreement with Maruti International.
Sahni further alleged that in January 2020, a Maruti International representative informed him about the existing agreement with Shemaroo, which reportedly covered the film’s rights for its lifetime. He also claimed that a supplementary agreement between Maruti International and Shemaroo was signed in October 2020.
Meanwhile, Grand Master had applied for cinematograph copyright in March 2020. Sahni alleged that the Copyright Office later issued the company copyright certificate CF-5230/2023, dated April 28, 2023.
Released in September 2007, Dhamaal went on to become a cult comedy. The franchise recently returned with Dhamaal 4, featuring Ajay Devgn in the lead.
Also Read : Dhamaal 4 Box Office: Film collects Rs. 66 lakhs on Day 26; total reaches Rs. 158.49 crore
