| Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ravi Chopra |
| Produced by | Ravi Chopra BR Chopra |
| Starring | Govinda Tabu Lara Dutta Boman Irani Rajpal Yadav |
| Music by | Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Javed Akhtar (lyrics) |
| Cinematography | Barun Mukherjee |
| Editing by | Akiv Ali |
| Studio | Film City |
| Distributed by | BR Films |
| Release date(s) | March 2, 2012 |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai is an upcoming Bollywood comedy film directed by Ravi Chopra, starring Salman Khan, Govinda, Tabu[1] , Lara Dutta,[2] and Boman Irani.[3] The film is scheduled to release on March 02, 2012.[4]
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The director was served with a legal notice in 2009 by 20th Century Fox, which charged that the movie blatantly plagiarized the 1992 comedy My Cousin Vinny.[3] Chopra and the production company, Mumbai-based BR Films, denied the charges in court in May 2009; the movie's release was to be delayed until June 2009[5] by order of the Bombay High Court.[1] Fox sought damages of $1.4 million; this was the first time a Bollywood filmmaker was taken to court by a Hollywood company over the remaking of a film. Fox had given Chopra permission "to make a film loosely based on the Oscar winning movie" but concluded the final product was a "substantial reproduction" of the original.
When BR Films’ Ravi Chopra began filming his Govinda-Lara Dutta comedy Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai, he was clear that he’d completely overhauled and re-written an Indianised version of My Cousin Vinny. Apparently, when he began the film, Ravi had sought the remaking rights but was assured that since he was taking only an idea and he’d written a totally fresh screenplay, there was no need to buy the rights. He said that he’d even got written permission from the makers of My Cousin Vinny to go ahead with his Hindi film. But between the starting of the film and its completion, the market changed colours. BR Films and BIG, the Reliance wing that had the distribution rights, soon locked horns over the price — the latter wanted BR to re-negotiate terms but the former felt it was now being offered peanuts. With the film ready to hit the theaters but BIG in no mood to do the needful at an unaffordable price, Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai languished in the cans until the Chopras decided to simply end the deal and release it themselves. With perfect timing, a lawsuit was slapped on BR Films by Twentieth Century Fox for flicking their film without buying the rights![1][6][7]
B R Films, which was accused of plagiarism by Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox, had settled the case out-of-court for an undisclosed amount.[8]
The Kolkata Telegraph, listing a number of other Bollywood movies "inspired" by Hollywood blockbusters, noted that the case would "decide whether Indian filmmakers can continue to get their 'inspiration' with impunity, or buy rights the legal way."[9]