HC directs filmmaker Gowtham Menon to file counter to plea

The Madras High Court on Monday directed film director Gowtham Vasudev Menon, who helmed the bilingual biopic on the late J Jayalalitha to file his response to a plea filed by the late Chief Minister's niece, Deepa Jayakumar against the movie.

When the Original Application in the civil suit by Deepa Jayakumar came up, Justice Senthil Kumar Ramamoorthy directed Menon to file the counter and posted the matter to December 11.

Deepa, who submitted that she was a legal heir of the late AIADMK supremo, has sought to restrain the filmmakers from going ahead with their project without her consent.

The matter pertains to the announcement made by film makers A L Vijay, Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Gowtham Vasudev Menon to produce a film on the biography of late Jayalalitha titled "THALAIVI" in Tamil and "JAYA" in Hindi.

Deepa has contended that the filmmakers did not have any legal right to produce the movie on the life and times of Jayalalithaa.

In her application, Deepa had further claimed the three do not have any legal right, power or authority to make to publish, exhibit publicly or privately film or any tele or web serial in respect of Jayalalithaa's life or that of any direct descendants without her consent.

Being a family member of Jayalalithaa she was associated with important events in the late leader's life, Deepa apprehended that the filmmakers might portray the life of her aunt and that of her as well in their "own version" affecting her privacy.

To safeguard the personality rights of the late chief minister, protect her own privacy and that of her family, it was absolutely necessary to restrain the makers of the biopic from going ahead, without getting her approval for the storyline and the script, Deepa had said in her plea.