Delhi HC restrains T-Series from using ‘Aashiqui’ & its variants as potential movie titles- Report

It’s good news for Mukesh Bhatt’s film production company Vishesh Films. Why? The Delhi HC ordered an interim injunction in favour of Bhatt, thereby restricting T-Series from using the titles ‘Tu Hi Aashiqui’ or ‘Tu Hi Aashiqui Hai’ for an upcoming film. The companies jointly produced the first two instalments of the Aashiqui franchise.

The first film – released in 1990, starred Rahul Roy and Annu Agarwal in lead roles. The film was loved for its narrative and heart-touching music. The next instalment – released in 2013, saw Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur in the film. The film was a raging success upon its release that’s to its wide range of songs and exceptional performances by the actors and technicians. T-Series and Vishesh Films were set to make the before the latter dragged the former to court.

Aashiqui title dispute

As per reports, Mukesh Bhatt’s company had dragged T-Series to court earlier this year after both parties revealed plans to make the third instalment in the Ashiqui franchise, tentatively titled, Aashiqui 3. However, T-Series then announced a similar-sounding film titled ‘Tu Hi Aashiqui’ or ‘Tu Hi Aashiqui Hai’ on its own.

As reported by Indian Express, taking into account the production houses’ history of collaboration, Justice Sanjeev Narula said, “Neither party can exploit any rights in the films by excluding the other, and the defendant (T-Series) cannot be permitted to make a sequel, remake, or adaptation of the Aashiqui franchise, or create any third-party rights in respect of the same, without the plaintiff’s (Vishesh Films) express consent.” As per this ruling, Bhatt and T-Series will require joint approval, joint credits, and joint consent on all aspects of the release.

The court further said, “This includes control over scripts, pre-production, production, and participation in any underlying works of the first two ‘Aashiqui’ films — namely, their script, screenplay, plot, dialogues, characters, storyline, theme and more… The use of the term ‘Aashiqui’ would inevitably evoke a perceived connection to the Aashiqui franchise, especially given the powerful association established between the title ‘Aashiqui’ and the Aashiqui franchise, which both the parties created jointly.”

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