Maruti International has addressed a serious issue regarding an alleged fraud case involving Rs 1.50 crore related to the rights of the 2007 comedy film Dhamaal. A police complaint was filed against director Indra Kumar and producer Ashok Thakeria on August 17, following concerns raised by Vikas Baldevraj Sahni, who owns a film distribution company in Mumbai called Grand Master.
The situation revolves around an agreement reportedly made on October 15, 2019, between Grand Master and Maruti International for the global distribution, digital rights, and copyrights of Dhamaal, which features actors Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaaferi, and Riteish Deshmukh. The deal was valued at Rs 1.50 crore.
In light of the allegations, Maruti International has released a statement assuring that discussions are ongoing with the involved parties to resolve the matter amicably.
According to Sahni, his company was initially told that the rights to Dhamaal had not been sold to anyone else. However, he claims to have discovered that the film’s total digital and OTT rights had already been sold to Shemaroo Entertainment back in 2015, which was four years prior to the agreement with Grand Master.
Sahni further alleged that in January 2020, a representative from Maruti International informed him about the existing deal with Shemaroo, which supposedly included lifetime rights for the film. He also noted that a supplementary agreement between Maruti International and Shemaroo was signed in October 2020.
In March 2020, Grand Master sought a cinematograph copyright for the film, and Sahni stated that the Copyright Office later issued them a copyright certificate dated April 28, 2023.
Dhamaal, released in September 2007, has gained a loyal following over the years. Recently, the franchise made a comeback with Dhamaal 4, which stars Ajay Devgn in the lead role.
