Wadias take ‘Rangoon’ to court

Vishal Bharadwaj’s much awaited movie ‘Rangoon’ which is up for release next week has landed itself in a legal soup. Film production firm Wadia Movietone Pvt. Ltd. has filed a legal suit against the filmmakers in the Mumbai High Court for copyright infringement.

Roy Wadia claimed that Kangana Ranaut’s character in film is based on Australian stunt actress Mary Evans, who was known by her screen name Fearless Nadia. It alleges that the makers have infringed on the copyrighted character, including her costume, poses, and even a catch phrase. Wadia confirmed the news by saying, “We have filed a commercial suit. The matter comes up for hearing on February 20.”

An anonymous source from the crew said, “Kangana was advised to watch ‘Hunterwali’ [a famous 1935 Nadia stunt film], and the stylists told to reference her dressing for Kangana, who plays Julia. Some of the male characters also resemble those from Nadia’s life.”

While another source close to Wadias added, “Vishal was going to helm the original project planned by UTV Disney and it was to star German actress Franka Potente. But the project fell through because of casting problems. To the Wadias, it seems that ‘Rangoon’ is the same film now revived, for which they haven’t been consulted or credited. Roy divides his time between New York and Bangkok. In the second week of February, he flew down to Mumbai to discuss details of the case before taking a final decision on the matter.”

The makers of the film have not given any official statement yet. We hope this film gets out of this legal soup and has a smooth release.