Mumbai: The producer of Kaithi, a Tamil movie, moved the Bombay High Court, accusing the makers of the Bollywood movie Bholaa of violating remake rights.

In the suit filed by Dream Warrior Pictures, they claimed that the Tamil film Kaithi was released in October 2019, and further, it clarified that it was the sole owner of the film’s copyright and remake rights. Later, they entered into a collaboration with a Reliance group unit in February 2020.

Consequently, they signed a Remake Rights Assignment Agreement on March 29, 2023, with Reliance Entertainment Studios for the Hindi remake of Kaithi titled Bholaa.

As per the agreement, Dream Warrior Pictures was supposed to be paid the assignment fees in parts. However, they alleged that it received only Rs 1 crore, with GST paid in April 2022. The producer also claimed that they were entitled to variable payments linked to the film’s exploitation.

Meanwhile, Bholaa was released on March 30, 2023.

Later, Dream Warrior, Reliance, and Ajay Devgn Ffilms LLP executed a tripartite Assignment Agreement that granted all three parties 100 per cent remake rights. However, it left the exploitation rights with Reliance.

In the suit, Dream Warrior claimed that the second and third tranches of payments, which were agreed under the first agreement, were left unpaid. Though the producer reached out through a series of emails, they were left unanswered.

Consequently, they issued a notice demanding Rs 4 crore along with interest on October 28, 2024. The producer also warned that non-payment within 30 days would lead to the automatic termination of the agreement and reversion of all film rights.

Dream Warrior then “filed a plea before the NCLT Mumbai by way of a Section 9 petition to seek the initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings against Reliance Entertainment, alleging the non-payment of operational debts,” according to Bar and Bench.

The petition was dismissed by NCLT in August 2025. It stated that contractual and IP disputes should be dealt with in the civil court.

As a result, a commercial IP suit was filed on March 22, 2026, by Dream Warrior. According to Bar and Bench, it demands “injunctions to restrain Reliance and Ajay Devgn Films from distributing, broadcasting, streaming or otherwise monetising Bholaa” and a “declaration that the assignment agreements stand terminated with rights reverting to Dream Warrior, and seeks damages including accounts of revenues and profits earned from the film and derivative content”.

The defending companies argued that only the courts in Chennai had jurisdiction as per the first agreement.

Following the hearing, the single-judge Bench of Justice Sharmila Deshmukh reserved its order on the issue of jurisdiction.