Jaya Biopics : Madras HC Declines Plea Of Jayalalithaa's Niece To Restrain Stay Release Of 'Queen' & 'Thalaivi'

The Madras High Court on Thursday declined to grant any relief to Deepa Jayakumar, niece of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, seeking to restrain some filmmakers from going ahead with the biopic of the late leader.

However, it directed the producers of the movie titled "Thalaivi" to adhere to the undertaking given by them not to cast a stigma on the applicant and depict her in a single scene.

Justice Senthil Kumar Ramamoorthy denied the relief sought by Deepa Jayakumar on her plea to restrain the producers of the movie 'Thalaivi' and the web serial 'Queen'.

He also directed the producers of the film to comply with the undertaking given.

Besides, it ordered Gowtham Vasudev Menon, producer of the web series, to adhere to the commitment of providing disclaimer that it was a work of fiction and ensure that no character closely resembling the applicant was depicted in the series pending adjudication of the suit.

In his order, the judge said, "The Privacy rights of the applicant per se are addressed in the counter affidavit filed by the producers AL Vijay and Vishnu Vardhan Induri of the movie Thalaivi and in paragraph 13 of the counter of Vishnu Vardhan Induri it is stated categorically that the proposed film would not cast a stigma on the applicant..."

As regards the producers of the movie Thalaivi, the undertaking in the counter filed by Vishnu Vardhan Induri coupled with the certification requirement constitute adequate safeguards, he said.

".. Therefore the application is hereby disposed of by denying the interim relief as requested subject to the rider that the producers shall adhere to the undertaking given by them in the counter affidavit," the judge said.

Disposing of the petition while dealing with the production of the web series titled "Queen", the judge said, "... Gowtham has acquired the rights to make a web serial on the basis of the book titled "Queen" which was published in the year 2017, and the author appears to hold the copy right thereto."

The producer has taken a categorical stand that the web series would be based on the book and that it would a fictional rendition, he noted.

He wondered if the applicant was entitled to an interim injunction in the alleged posthumous exercise of right to privacy or personality rights on behalf of her late aunt.

As regards personality rights, even on a prima facie basis, it is difficult to accept that the applicant has inherited the personality rights of her aunt, the judge said.

Referring to the stand taken by producer of the web series that it was fictional and that an undertaking was not warranted, he said, "I am of the view that the web series should not infringe the privacy of the applicant pending determination of the suit."

Noting that nine months have lapsed and about Rs 20 crores were said to be expended on the production of the web series, the Judge said, "The web series is stated to be fictional rendition which would carry a disclaimer that the resemblance to real persons purely coincidental and not intention.."

Given these circumstances, he said subject to the rider specified earlier, the balance of convenience is in favour of Gowtham and his right to freedom of expression cannot be curtailed at the instance of the applicant, whose assertion of posthumous privacy and personality rights for and on behalf of her late aunt are 'tenuous' and 'amorphous' at this stage.