Bombay High Court dismisses copyright claim against Dream Girl 2; calls allegations ‘far-fetched’
The Bombay High Court has thrown out a copyright infringement plea against Balaji Telefilms over its 2023 comedy Dream Girl 2, ruling that the film’s storyline is entirely different from the applicant’s work and that the claim of breach of confidence was ‘far-fetched’. The case was filed by writer Ashim Kumar Bagchi, who claimed the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer was based on his script originally titled Kal Kisne Dekha and later re-registered as The Show Must Go On. Bagchi alleged that his story — a gender-swap comedy about a man impersonating a woman and navigating hilarious situations whenever his real identity was at risk — had been shared in confidence with one of the film’s credited writers years ago. He argued that elements of his work had been used without permission. However, the court observed that what Bagchi was seeking amounted to a monopoly over generic ideas and common comedic tropes — such as mistaken identity and disguise — that cannot be protected under copyright law. T...
