Dream Warrior Pictures has approached the Bombay High Court, claiming that the Hindi remake Bholaa, starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu, infringes on the copyright and remake rights of its original Tamil film Kaithi.
The production house has sought to halt streaming, distribution, and monetization of the Hindi adaptation, escalating a high-profile legal battle in Bollywood.
The case, heard by a single-judge bench led by Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, has currently seen the court reserve its decision on a preliminary issue: whether the Bombay High Court has the jurisdiction to hear the matter, as Bholaa’s producers argue the dispute should be addressed elsewhere.
Dream Warrior Pictures produced and released Kaithi in October 2019 and retains full ownership of its intellectual property, including remake rights. The company claims it entered into multiple agreements for a Hindi adaptation, beginning with a collaboration with a Reliance Group entity in early 2020.
A key deal was signed on March 29, 2023, granting rights for Bholaa, under which Dream Warrior was to receive payments in instalments along with additional earnings tied to the film’s performance. The company alleges that only an initial payment of Rs. 1 crore plus GST was made, with subsequent dues remaining unpaid.
Following the release of Bholaa on March 30, 2023, Dream Warrior claims that a second agreement executed on April 1, 2023, with Reliance and Ajay Devgn Ffilms LLP granted joint ownership but left exploitation rights with Reliance.
Alleging that payments due in April and May 2023 were never cleared, the company issued a legal notice in October 2024, demanding Rs. 4 crore plus interest. With no response, Dream Warrior maintains that the agreement was terminated in November 2024, reverting all rights to it.
The production house also previously approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking insolvency proceedings against Reliance Entertainment, which were dismissed in August 2025.
Dream Warrior subsequently filed the present intellectual property suit on March 22, 2026, seeking to restrain Reliance, Ajay Devgn Ffilms, and downstream platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Zee Entertainment, and T-Series from distributing or streaming Bholaa without authorization.
Defendants argued that the primary agreement specifies Chennai courts as the proper jurisdiction and that the case cannot be heard in Mumbai based on a secondary agreement. After hearing submissions from both sides, the Bombay High Court has reserved its order on the question of jurisdiction, keeping the fate of the remake in legal limbo.