The Madras High Court on Wednesday restrained Kumudam Publications from using a still from filmmaker Leena Manimekalai’s award winning docudrama ‘Is it too much to ask’ for news stories published by it regarding COVID-19.
Justice C.V. Karthikeyan also directed the publication to remove the movie still from existing copies of posters displayed in bunk shops, tea stalls and newsstands where its magazines Kumudam and Kumudam Reporter were being sold.
A direction was also issued to remove the still from other offline as well as online modes in which it had been used.
The interim orders were passed following a civil suit preferred by the filmmaker seeking damages of ₹5 lakh for infringement of copyright and another ₹5 lakh for having violated the privacy of two transgenders who had acted in the docudrama.
The litigant’s counsel M.V. Swaroop told the court that the docudrama, released in June 2017, was an earnest portrayal of difficulties faced by theatre artistes Living Smile Vidya and Angel Glady in finding a rented accommodation in Chennai.
It had garnered significant recognition in more than 80 international film festivals and had also won numerous awards including the best documentary award at the 2017 Singapore South Asian Film Festival and runner up audience award at Germany’s Feminist Film Week 2018.
However, the filmmaker, in June this year, was surprised to find a still from her production to have been used by Kumudam publications for a news story ‘Corona Dhigil, Chennaiku Goodbye’ regarding reported migration of people from Chennai due to fear of COVID-19.
“The unauthorised use of the still of the lead artistes in a completely unrelated article and the posters published by the defendant regarding COVID-19 pandemic amount to not only infringement of copyright but also the privacy of the artistes,” he said.
Concurring with him, the judge, in his order, observed: “It has been, in my opinion, very sickeningly used by the defendant… The picture requires no explanation.”
