Court Stays the Screeening of Ketan Mehta's Film

Image from here

As reported here, Ketan Mehta’s attempt to convert Dashrath Manjhi’s life story into a movie has hit a road block as the screening of the film has been stayed by the Civil Court of Patna due to a suit filed by filmmaker Dhananjay Kapoor. 

Dashrath Manjhi's or the 'mountain breaker' is famed to have hammered through a hillock with a chisel (it took him 22 years). This endeavor was carried out by him for his beloved wife. 

Reports say that Ketan Mehta shot the entire film at Manjhi's village and adjoining areas between September-November, 2012 and has already spent around 6 crores on this project. Kapoor claims to have the legal rights over Manjhi’s life story and has a written agreement dated July 24, 2007 to this effect. Ketan contends that Manjhi’s life is in the public domain and no one can claim monopoly over it. Moreover, the film is a work fiction merely drawing inspiration from his life and not a replication of his life story. 

In the order granting stay of screening, the judge asked the parties to explore the possibility of a settlement. 

It is pertinent to note that the right of publicity evolves from the right of privacy and inheres in a person. In the case of ICC v Arvee Enterprises it was held that publicity rights are acquired by a person due to his association with a particular event, sport, movie etc. The court also held that the right of publicity vests only in the individual concerned and only he can profit from it. 

In the present case if no settlement is reached, it may be argued that since Manjhi through his ‘path breaking’ endeavor gained fame and hence acquired publicity rights, his permission was required for making of the film. However, it could also be argued that so far as his life is in the public domain consent to publish those parts of his life was not required. In the famous case of R Rajagopal v State of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme had held that the Nakkheeran (a magazine) did not require consent to publish the life story of the serial killer Auto Shankar, insofar as it was based on public records. However, if it went beyond such records, it could lead to an invasion of privacy. Moreover, the fact that Manjhi is no more would also be a relevant fact in deciding the present case.