Rs 4 Crore Dispute: Kaithi Producer Challenges Bholaa Makers in Bombay High Court

In Dream Warrior Pictures v. Reliance Studio Entertainment & Ors., the producer of the Tamil film Kaithi has approached the Bombay High Court alleging violation of copyright and remake rights in relation to the Hindi film Bholaa.

Dream Warrior Pictures claims it is the sole owner of the copyright and remake rights of Kaithi, which was released in 2019. The dispute arises from agreements entered into for the Hindi remake, culminating in the release of Bholaa in March 2023.

According to the producer, a Remake Rights Assignment Agreement dated March 29, 2023 was executed with Reliance Entertainment Studios. Under this arrangement, Dream Warrior was entitled to a fixed assignment fee in instalments along with variable payments linked to the film’s commercial exploitation.

The company has alleged that only ₹1 crore plus GST was paid in April 2022, while subsequent payments due in April and May 2023 were never made. Despite repeated reminders seeking payments and financial accounts, the dues remained unpaid.

A second agreement dated April 1, 2023 involved Reliance and Ajay Devgn Ffilms LLP, granting joint ownership of remake rights while retaining exploitation rights with Reliance. Dream Warrior argues that this arrangement does not override its entitlement to payments under the earlier agreement.

After issuing a legal notice in October 2024 demanding ₹4 crore with interest, Dream Warrior warned that non-payment would lead to automatic termination of the agreement. It claims that upon expiry of the notice period on November 27, 2024, the agreement stood terminated and all rights reverted back to it.

The producer has now filed a commercial intellectual property suit seeking an injunction against the defendants. It has requested the Court to restrain Reliance, Ajay Devgn Ffilms, and downstream licensees from distributing or monetising Bholaa.

The suit also targets OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Zee Cinema and T-Series. Dream Warrior contends that any streaming or exploitation of the film after November 27, 2024 is unauthorised and amounts to wrongful enrichment.

Earlier, Dream Warrior had initiated insolvency proceedings against Reliance before the National Company Law Tribunal. However, the NCLT dismissed the petition in August 2025, holding that no operational debt existed and clarifying that contractual and intellectual property disputes must be resolved through civil proceedings.

During the hearing, the defendants raised a preliminary objection regarding territorial jurisdiction. They argued that the agreements specified Chennai courts as the appropriate forum, and that the Bombay High Court lacked jurisdiction.

On the other hand, Dream Warrior relied on supplementary agreements to justify approaching the Bombay High Court. After hearing both sides, Justice Sharmila Deshmukh has reserved orders on the issue of jurisdiction.

The outcome of this preliminary question will determine whether the Bombay High Court can proceed to examine the broader dispute involving copyright ownership, contractual obligations, and alleged unauthorised exploitation of the film.