On May 4, Kumar Mangat Pathak’s Panorama Studios announced that it had acquired the Hindi remake rights of the Malayalam movie, Drishyam 2: The Resumption, unaware that it would trigger a chain of events. Soon, Viacom18 Motion Pictures — which had produced the Hindi remake, Drishyam (2015), featuring Ajay Devgn and Tabu — approached the Bombay High Court seeking a restraining order against the studio. Pathak then assured the HC that he will not kick off shooting till the copyright suit is pending in court. Now, mid-day has learnt that the two warring studios are set to have a discussion with the original’s producer, Antony Perumbavoor, regarding its copyright.

When Mohanlal’s Drishyam [2013] was being adapted into Hindi, Viacom was the producer while Pathak and his company served as the line producers. A source reveals, “At the time, [Viacom] had formulated a remake rights agreement whereby it owned the intellectual property [IP] rights, should a franchise be created in Hindi. After Mohanlal’s Drishyam 2 released, while Viacom was gearing up for its Hindi adaptation with Devgn, Pathak bought the rights from Antony, claiming that he is treating it as a standalone film. Last week, the HC prima facie observed that if Pathak proceeds with the production, it will be at his own peril.”

Even as they await the next hearing scheduled for June 18, buzz in the inner circles is that Perumbavoor should have offered complete clarity before shaking hands with Pathak. “The original copyright deal was signed between Viacom and Antony. Now, he has sold the Hindi remake rights to Pathak. So, the onus of overlapping copyright is on Antony. The court will have the final word,” says a source close to Pathak. 

mid-day texted Viacom and Panorama Studios. Both remained unavailable for comment.