The makers of the Kannada film Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare heaved a sigh of relief on Thursday when their film cleared a legal hurdle. The college comedy, directed by Nithin Krishnamurthy, is set to release on Friday as scheduled as a petition seeking a stay on the film’s release by actor-politician Ramya was vacated by the court.
Ms. Ramya had filed a case against the film’s team for “unauthorised use of her video clips” in the trailer and in the movie. The actor had sought ₹1 crore compensation from the makers.
On Thursday, the court vacated Ms. Ramya’s plea. The court order said: “Interim orders of injunction granted on IA no. I and II on July 18 are vacated subject to the condition that defendants no. 1, 3, and 4 shall offer security for an amount of ₹50,00,000 by way of deposit or by way of bank guarantee to meet any claim of the plaintiff for compensation for breach of contract within one week, i.e, July 27.
“It is made clear that the said security to be offered is not an adjudicated, decided, maximum or minimum compensation, but is only as a condition for vacating the interim order, and entitlement and quantum of compensation are to be decided in the suit.”
The director said he was relieved by the court’s order. “This is my debut and the case came as a huge hurdle. We are focusing on ensuring a smooth release now,” he said. Eight months ago, the film’s team had done a promotional video featuring Ms. Ramya. One of the film’s producers, Varun Gowda, said, “We believe there is no confusion in the agreement signed with Ms. Ramya.”
