FIR against makers of Akshay Kumar’s Kesari Chapter 2 for ‘distorting’ Bengal’s freedom movement, TMC calls it ‘insult’
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress attacked the makers of Bollywood film Kesari Chapter 2, accusing them of distorting the history of the state’s contribution to India’s freedom struggle and insulting Bengali revolutionaries.
The controversy erupted over a scene in the movie that allegedly misrepresents key freedom fighters from Bengal — notably the iconic Bengali revolutionaries Khudiram Bose and Barindra Kumar Ghosh.
According to the TMC, the film refers to Khudiram Bose as “Khudiram Singh” and presents Barindra Kumar Ghosh as “Birendra Kumar” from Amritsar.
Calling it a “deliberate distortion of history” and a “deep insult to Bengal,” senior TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Arup Chakraborty addressed a press conference at the party headquarters, condemning the portrayal.
Ghosh said, “The names of Bengali revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives for India’s freedom were being distorted. This is not just a mistake — this is a conspiracy to erase Bengal’s role in the freedom movement. How did such a film get a censor certificate?”
ASCI revises opinion trading whitepaper after notice by Mobile Premier League
In the new whitepaper, released on June 17, ASCI said it has omitted references to specific entities to ‘maintain focus on the broader subject matter’, and also retracted earlier claims that courts had banned opinion trading in India, clarifying instead that legal proceedings are still underway.
“The Indian courts are currently examining the legal status of opinion trading in India. Legal proceedings have been filed before the Supreme Court of India as well as before several High Courts and the issue is pending consideration,” the whitepaper said.
Mohanlal’s Thudarum faces plagiarism allegations
In a lengthy Facebook post, director Sasidharan accused the makers of Thudarum of plagiarising the screenplay of his film Theeyattam, which he wrote in 2020. His social media post, written in Malayalam, loosely translates as “I saw the movie Thudarum. It’s made by stealing the skeleton of my screenplay, Theeyattam, which I wrote in 2020. The core of it remains safe, either because they (the makers of Thudarum) lacked the intelligence to understand its essence or because they deliberately avoided it in their attempt to rewrite it unrecognisably.
Madras High Court issues notice to HIT 3 team
The Madras High Court has issued a notice to the HIT 3 team to respond to plagiarism charges by July 7. A scriptwriter named Vimalavelan, also known as Vimal, claimed that he had submitted a synopsis to actor Nani a long time ago. He was shocked to discover that his story idea was allegedly used for HIT 3. According to him, the basic script is the same.
CBFC demands title change, blocks release of Suresh Gopi’s movie ‘Janaki vs State of Kerala’
According to director Pravin Narayanan, the CBFC has demanded that the title be changed, specifically objecting to the use of the name ‘Janaki’. As a result, the film’s scheduled release June 27 now stands postponed.
Producer of multilingual superhit ‘Eega’ issues copyright infringement notice to Malayalam movie ‘Lovely’
The Hyderabad-based production company Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram, in a press release alleged the movie ‘Lovely’ has reproduced, appropriated and exploited the character of a housefly ‘visually’ and ‘narratively’ identical to the housefly protagonist in its 2012 film.
However, the makers of the Malayalam 3D film have denied the charges and said they will face the case ‘legally’. They maintain that the film tells the story of a young dreamer who is capable of conversing with a housefly.
Delhi High Court orders takedown of YouTube channel using Anjana Om Kashyap deepfakes
The Court in the interim order said the page appeared to be fake and thus the plaintiff (TV Today) has made out a case for interim injunction.
“Considering the identity of the defendant no 2, the missing P in the word Kashyap, it is clear that the same appears to be a fake page. Such fake YouTube pages and fake profiles being made using her goodwill, reputation and personality is contrary to law. Accordingly, the plaintiff has made out a case for interim injunction,” the Court stated.
Can’t allow mob rule: Supreme Court bats for release of Thug Life in Karnataka
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that Kamal Haasan-starrer Thug Life must be allowed to be screened in Karnataka, and that mobs and vigilante groups cannot be allowed take over the streets.
The court opined – “So what? We can’t allow this to happen. Rule of law demands that any person should be allowed to release a film. It can’t be at the fear that the theatres will be burnt. We are not saying that people should come and watch the film. But the film should be released.”
It added that State has to ensure that anyone who has a Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) clearance should be allowed to release the film.
Bombay High Court grants interim relief to ‘Social’ pub chain in trademark case against ‘Social Tribe’
“A brazen attempt is made by the Defendant to infringe the said trade mark which requires to be restrained. it also cannot be disputed that Plaintiff has robust presence in the restaurant business which is prima facie demonstrated from the sales turn over figures and promotional expenses set out. In event, the Defendant is not restrained, despite a prima facie case being made out, the Plaintiff will suffer irreparable loss, harm and prejudice,” the Court reasoned.
Delhi HC restrains infringement of Volvo trademark
The Court found a prima facie case in favour of the Swedish maker for an ad-interim injunction.
“If the actions of the defendants remain unrestrained, then the practice of using the infringing grille slash trademarks on any bus will become rampant and the exclusivity associated with the plaintiffs’ buses will vanish over time,” it added.
The court, as a result, restrained the defendants and their agents from infringing the Volvo mark in any manner by physically using it on buses or using it for travel services till October 9, the next date of hearing.
Delhi HC Grants Interim Relief To Domino’s Against Trademark Infringement By Multiple Pizza Outlets
The court directed: “The defendant Nos. 1 to 15, their proprietors, partners, directors, officers, servants, agents, franchisors, and all others acting on their behalf are restrained from advertising, selling, offering for sale, marketing, etc., any product, packaging, menu cards, advertising material, labels, stationery articles, website or any other documentation using, depicting, or displaying in any manner whatsoever, the marks/names ‘Domnic’s’, ‘Dominic’, ‘Dominic’s’, ‘Domnik’, ‘Daminic’, ‘Daminic’s’, or any other mark identical or deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s trademarks”.
BBC Considers Legal Action Against AI Firm Perplexity Over Content Use
The BBC is reportedly preparing legal action against AI search engine Perplexity for allegedly using its content without permission to train artificial intelligence models. According to the Financial Times, the UK public broadcaster is cracking down on tech companies scraping its digital archives, marking a broader push to protect intellectual property in the AI era.
DNPA calls for protection of copyright in AI model training on news content
The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), an industry body of traditional media organisations with a major print presence, called on Saturday (June 21, 2025) for the protection of copyright in training of Artificial Intelligence models. The statement comes as DNPA and other organisations contribute to a review of the “intersection” between AI and copyright being undertaken by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce.
In January, DNPA intervened in a copyright lawsuit being filed by the newswire agency Asian News International (ANI) in the Delhi High Court, arguing the ChatGPT maker OpenAI’s training of its models on publicly available news content “threatens the intellectual property rights of publishers”. An OpenAI spokesperson defended the company’s training of models like ChatGPT, saying its use of public content was “supported by long-standing and widely accepted legal precedents”.
