Actor Ranveer Singh's '83' will finally be available on OTT platforms for all those who couldn't make it to the theatres. The Bombay High Court recently rejected a plea regarding a stay on the film’s digital and satellite release, filed by the production house Mad Man. The court ruled in favour of Star India (Hotstar) and Netflix, allowing them to showcase the film on their platforms.
According to a report in India Today, a plea was filed by Mad Man Film Ventures against Reliance Entertainment Studio and others regarding the exploitation of satellite and/or digital media rights by Star India and Netflix. Mad Man Film Ventures claimed that the intellectual property was divided between them (37.5%), Reliance Entertainment (37.5%), and Vibri Media Pvt. Ltd., one of the producers of the film (25%). However, the OTT platforms claimed that they had been granted rights much before the consent terms between Mad Man and Reliance and that the agreements through which they were granted rights, were not under challenge. They also stated that Mad Man’s contractual rights would commence only after 10 years of the theatrical release, and until then Reliance has all the rights of the film.
The plea was heard by the bench of Justice Riyaz Chagla, who said that Mad Man cannot claim rights to intellectual property and that Star India and Netflix have both digital and satellite rights. The court also noted that Mad Man could claim its rights over the film only after 10 years of its theatrical release, until then Reliance has exclusive rights.
The Kabir Khan directorial, which hit screens in December last year, also stars Deepika Padukone, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Saqib Saleem, Ammy Virk and Harrdy Sandhu. The story of the film revolves around the historic win of the Indian cricket team, led by Kapil Dev, in the 1983 cricket World Cup. This was one of the few films that were released in theatres during the pandemic.
