HC allows Varma to release his 'Nishabd"

New Delhi, Feb 27 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today allowed Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma to release his controversial Amitabh Bachchan starrer film 'Nishabd' on Friday.

Justice A K Sikri said, ''Injunction of the nature pressed by the plaintiff can not be granted at this stage when it approached the court barely 10 days before the proposed release of the film.'' Blaming film Director Jahar Kanungo for the deliberate delay, the court said, ''The plaintiff has allowed it to happen.'' Kanungo has lost the chance in getting temporary injunction by not approaching the court earlier. ''By his inaction and allowing the things to happen in the aforesaid manner, it has slipped an opportunity,'' said the order.

Senior Counsel Rajiv Nayar appearing for Varma had argued that the petition of Kanungo should be dismissed as there was no violation of the Copyright Act or Trademark Act as both the films were different and have different storylines.

The "Nisshabd" produced by Kanungo was in Bengali and it was an art film in documentary form, submitted Nayar.

Moreover, Kanungo despite knowing about the title of Varma's film in May 2006 approached the court just before the scheduled release of the film.

Citing evidence, he said on May 8, 2006 Kanungo had written an e-mail to Western Indian Film Producers Association about the title of the film and he should have earlier approached Varma or the court seeking restriant, said Nayar.

However, Counsel Kartik Jai Shanker appearing for Kanungo had argued that Varma had knowingly infringed the intellectual property rights over the name and title of Kanungo's film 'Nisshabd' which had won many international awards.

"Nisshabd" of Kanungo was produced with the financial aid, released under the French government's "Fonds Sud Cinema" scheme in November 2002.

UNI