Author of the book ‘Didda: Kashmir Ki Yoddha Rani’ Ashish Kaul has sent a legal notice to Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut over the sequel of her upcoming film Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. The actor, who is known for reeking controversy with her statements and social media posts, along with the makers of the film has reportedly violated the copyright of the author’s book.
Kaul claimed that the film, which is a 2019 sequel, is based on his book for which he has not been given due credits. However, producer Kamal Jain has brushed away all such allegations of the author. News18 has reported that the Queen actor has received a legal notice from Kaul who has demanded a reply within the next 72 hours.
As per reports, the notice reads: “Our Client was further appalled to discover that the nature and treatment of the character of Didda in the Proposed Film, was identical to the Narrative Text, the Book and the information communicated by Our Client in his e-mail of 11 September 2020. To add further insult to injury, Kangana Ranaut and Kamal Kumar Jain have since issued public statements alleging that their proposed Film is not based on the Book. It is re-iterated that the description of Didda as identified by Kangana Ranaut to promote the Film is identical to as set out in the Book.”
Kaul has also added that following the false sympathy from the makers of the film, he has been facing serious abuses and trolls on social media which has resulted in him suffering severe mental anguish. “On account of such false denunciations, Our Client has been trolled and abused by the fans of Kangana Ranaut on Twitter and has suffered extreme mental anguish. It is unfortunate that Our Client, an established and published author and one of the few leading authorities on Didda in the world, is being needlessly harassed due to the actions of Ms Kangana Ranaut and Mr Kamal Kumar Jain. Our Client further risks financial losses as he has been in conversation with major producers and studios for the production of a film based on the book and the script, which has been registered since 2017. The actions and representations of Ms Kangana Ranaut, Mr Kamal Kumar and Ms Rangoli Ranaut will severely impact all opportunities of commercial exploitation of the Narrative Text, the Book, and the Script by Kaul,” the notice added.
