Legal dispute has erupted between the makers of the Hindi remake gullible It stars Ajay Devgan and Tabu and Tamil production house Dream Warrior Pictures produced the film starring Karthi. kathy. The latter has approached the Bombay High Court alleging infringement of copyright and remake rights associated with its original film kathy.
Kaithi vs Bhola controversy: Dream Warrior Pictures moves Bombay High Court over alleged copyright infringement
The case was heard by a single-judge bench led by Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, which has currently reserved its judgment on the preliminary issue of whether the Bombay High Court has jurisdiction to hear the case. creator of gullible has challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the dispute should be addressed elsewhere.
It was produced and released by Dream Warrior Pictures, according to kathy in October 2019 and retains full ownership of the film’s intellectual property, including remake rights. The company said it subsequently signed several agreements regarding Hindi translation, starting with a collaboration involving a Reliance Group unit in early 2020.
On March 29, 2023, a landmark agreement was signed between Dream Warrior and Reliance Entertainment Studios, giving the rights to the Hindi remake title. gullible. Under the deal, Dream Warrior claims that it was to receive a fixed fee in installments along with additional earnings linked to the film’s performance. However, it is alleged that only an initial payment of Rs 1 crore plus GST was made in April 2022.
The Hindi remake starring Ajay Devgan was released globally on March 30, 2023. Shortly after, on April 1, 2023, a second agreement was signed between Dream Warrior, Reliance and Ajay Devgan FFilms LLP. This arrangement reportedly gave the three parties joint ownership of the remake rights, while leaving the exploitation rights with Reliance.
Dream Warrior has claimed that subsequent payments due in April and May 2023 were never cleared. After repeated follow-ups over the next two years remained unanswered, the company issued a legal notice in October 2024 demanding Rs. Rs 4 crore including interest. It also warned that if payment was not made within 30 days, the agreement would be canceled and all rights would be restored.
After this deadline expires in November 2024, Dream Warriors says the agreement is canceled and all rights related to it gullible It was returned.
In parallel, the production house had earlier approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai, seeking insolvency proceedings against Reliance Entertainment for non-payment of dues. However, the tribunal rejected the petition in August 2025, ruling that the dispute did not qualify as an operational debt matter and should instead be resolved through civil proceedings.
Subsequently, Dream Warrior filed the current commercial intellectual property lawsuit on March 22, 2026. In this, an order has been sought from the court to stop Reliance and Ajay Devgan FFilms from distribution, streaming or monetization. gullible. The petition also seeks a formal declaration that the agreement has been terminated, as well as compensation based on the revenue earned from the film and its related content.
Several downstream platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Zee Entertainment Enterprises and T-Series, have also been named in the case, alleging that any streaming of the film after November 27, 2024 is unauthorized and amounts to ill-gotten gains.
During the hearing, the defendants argued that the preliminary agreement between the parties clearly specified that only the courts of Chennai would have jurisdiction. He argued that the case could not be brought before the Bombay High Court on the basis of a secondary agreement.
After considering the arguments of both the parties, the court has reserved its order on the question of jurisdiction.
