Chennai: Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, who is essaying the role of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in her biopic 'Thalaivi', will not face any hurdles in the release of the film as the Madras High Court has refused to pass an injunction order.
Jayalalithaa’s niece and one of her legal heirs J Deepa had moved the court expressing apprehension that the film, which was shot without her permission, might sully the late leader’s image. The trailer of the film was released a few weeks ago.
Dismissing her appeal against a single judge’s order allowing the filming, a bench of Justices R. Subbiah and Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup held: “Personality, reputation or privacy enjoyed by a person during his/her lifetime comes to an end with his/her death. We are of the opinion that a posthumous right is not an alienable right. Therefore, the appellant is not entitled for an injunction on the ground that the posthumous right of her aunt is sought to be sullied by release of the film titled Thalaivi.”
The court pointed out that it was early to conclude that the film would harm Jayalalithaa’s reputation. “The release of the movie is subject to certification by Central Board of Film Certification and the board will have an opportunity to go through the contents of the movie,” the order said.
Likewise, the judges refused to pass any order against the web series Queen, a fictional account of a character resembling Jayalalithaa as depicted in a novel, as it was already streamed on an OTT platform last year.