The Netflix original film The White Tiger starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Rajkummar Rao, and Adarsh Gourav dropped on the streaming platform on January 21. Hours before the release of the film worldwide, producers Sonia Mudbhatkal and John Hart filed a copyright infringement suit in the Delhi High Court against the film’s producer Mukul Deora, his chartered accountant Sharad Seksaria and Netflix. The complainants claimed that they held the adaptation rights of Aravind Adiga’s novel on which the film is based. Now, days after the release of the film, the producer duo have gone to the Enforcement Directorate, alleging that Deora used a cheque from a now-defunct Swiss bank, BSI, for “suspicious transactions for the project”.
Reportedly, Hart and Mudbhatkal requested the ED for an investigation into the transactions. They also claimed that Netflix was aware of various shell companies of Deora. Meanwhile, Deora told a tabloid that there was no wrongdoing from their end.
As per reports, Hart who has produced films like Revolutionary Road and Boys Dont Cry bought the adaptation rights to the book on March 4, 2009 from the author. Mudbhatkal joined him to produce the film and Deora was brought on board as passive financer in 2010. In their suit, Hart and Mudbhatkal claimed that Deora set up a web of companies to subvert the rights of the original copyright owners.
Earlier, the Delhi HC had refused to stay the release of the film. The next hearing of the case will be held on March 22.
