Boney Kapoor

For slapping a legal notice on Ram Gopal Varma for the title of his next film

Granted that Ram Gopal Varma has made quite a few lousy films in the recent past for which, one could argue, some sort of comeuppance is deserved. But what Boney Kapoor, producer-director and husband of actress Sridevi, is doing stretches the limits of reasonableness. Kapoor has sent Varma a legal notice because the title of the director’s next film is Sridevi.

The upcoming Telugu film— whose poster, showing a teenage boy staring at the midriff of a woman, was recently released—is about an adolescent’s infatuation with an older woman. Media reports say Kapoor and Sridevi are upset that Varma did not seek the actress’ permission before using the name. There is really no way to prove that the filmmaker is referring to the actress.

Legally, at least, it appears as if Sridevi and Kapoor are on a sticky wicket and Varma is in no mood to oblige. As he wrote on his Facebook page, ‘I am going ahead with the title “Sridevi” because I am well within my legal… rights to use it… legal because a name cannot be copyrighted and also like I said the film has nothing to do with the real Sridevi to the extent that the protagonist is not even an actress’

Boney KapoorRam Gopal VarmaSridevi