Ajay Dhama, who claims that a film presented by Neeraj Pandey is a copy of his 2016 short’s trailer, sends legal notice; the latter’s producer asks him to ‘share his film and script’
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 1, 2019)

On Wednesday, Laddoo, a short film featuring Kumud Mishra, Manasi Parekh and Kabir Sajid, released online. Presented by Neeraj Pandey and produced by Shital Bhatia, it revolves around an inquisitive little boy who sets out to feed a pandit on the occasion of his grandfather’s death anniversary. After seeing the trailer, filmmaker Ajay Dhama reached out to Mirror alleging that the makers had stolen the idea from his film In The Name of God.

“Someone sent me a link of Laddoo’s trailer on Wednesday and after seeing the entire short, I was shocked because it’s a direct lift from my film’s trailer which I uploaded online in 2016. More than 150 people on Facebook, including a few actors and technicians had shared it back then,” informs Ajay, pointing out that even the name of the young protagonist in the new short is the same, Rahul.

The filmmaker goes on to narrate how in his film, on his way to feed a pandit, Rahul bumps into a beggar and tells him that he is headed to a temple. Confused between a temple and a masjid, the boy enters the latter and offers the food to a moulavi, calling him ‘panditji’. “Sitaram Panchal who died a year-and-a-half ago, played the moulavi. The idea of the film was to erase communal differences and convey that all religions are one. They have copied my film, from names to the theme to even some of the dialogues,” adds an aggrieved Ajay, saying that his lawyer Akshey Parakh has already sent a notice to the makers of Laddoo for ‘violating trademark, copyright and patent act’.

Ajay has yet to release his film and when questioned on it, he shrugs, “I’m the producer and director and I’m in no hurry to release it.”

Mirror reached out to both Neeraj and Shital. The producer sent across a text message, stating, “We have reached out to Mr Ajay Dhama and asked him to show his film and script. Obviously, we had absolutely no clue about his film. Laddoo, which is written and directed by Sameer and Kishor Sadhwani, is presented by us to encourage and promote first-time filmmakers. They came to us with this concept and story which was supported by us. As responsible storytellers we take such claims very seriously and would appreciate it if people refrained from jumping to conclusions.”

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; March 18, 2015)

Lucy Pinder, who is known in British glamour circles for her busty spreads in tabloids and men's mags, will soon be seen in Hindi films.

Ajay Dhama, who is co-producing her debut film titled 'Warrior Savitri', says: "Lucy will play the lead role in 'Warrior Savitri', which is designed to inspire women in the country to take up martial arts for self defence."

Director Param Gill adds Lucy will be seen as a mixed martial arts fighter in the film. "We have already started the shoot for the film and apart from Lucy, 'Udaan' actor Rajat Barmecha and Hongkong action star Tim Man," he states.