The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to stay the release of the upcoming film Doosra in a suit field by former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly.

“I am simply keeping it for tomorrow. No stay,” Justice Dinesh Bhatt said.

The film is scheduled for theatrical release on October 23.

The suit was urgently listed for hearing today.

Filed by Ganguly and filmmaker Luv Films LLP, the suit alleged unauthorised commercial use of Ganguly's personality, identity and professional achievements.

The suit has been filed against the film's producers, director Abhinay Deo, production entities and distributor PVR INOX, among others.

The counsel appearing for Ganguly alleged violation of his personality rights. She argued that no license was taken from Ganguly, and that the former cricketer is the pseudo hero.

She also said that the one third part of the trailer is Ganguly's footage and that in the interview, the director refers to Sourav Ganguly.

The senior counsels appearing for the defendants said that the movie is not a biopic and is a story of a a girl from Rajasthan who draws inspiration from Ganguly.

It was argued that due licence was taken from BCCI/ authorised holder for use of footage of netwest series and that the player has no right over such footage.

After hearing the parties, the Court refused to pass an interim order today to release the film on an urgent basis.

According to the plaint, Ganguly entered into an agreement with Luv Films on August 05, 2021, granting the production house exclusive contractual rights to develop, produce and commercially exploit audiovisual content, including a biographical film, based on his life, personal and professional journey, experiences and achievements.

Luv Films claims to have made substantial investments in the authorised biopic, the shooting of which has been completed. The production house has also stated that it has undertaken licensing of exploitation rights in the project, creating third-party interests.

The plaintiffs contend that the film Doosra, directed by Abhinay Deo, makes prominent and repeated references to Ganguly's leadership of the Indian cricket team, his professional achievements and the iconic moment at Lord's following India's victory in the 2002 NatWest Series.

They allege that the film's trailer and promotional campaign exploit Ganguly's recognisable identity, reputation and goodwill to generate public interest and commercial traction without his consent or authorisation.

The plaintiffs further claim that the unauthorised use of these elements threatens to undermine the commercial value and exclusivity of the rights acquired by Luv Films and prejudice the market positioning of the authorised biopic.