CHENNAI: N Anand Babu (48), son of legendary comedian of yester-year C K Nagesh of Ekkattuthangal, has moved the Madras High Court to restrain Transindia Media & Entertainment Private Limited, producer and Isaq alias Mohamed Issac in Velachery, director, from using the title Nagesh Thiraiyarangam in their Tamil feature film, scheduled to be released on July 15.
Justice V Parthiban, before whom the application arising out of a civil suit from Anand Babu came up on June 29, ordered notice to the producer and director, returnable in two weeks.According to plaintiff, his father was a great comedian artist for several decades. He had constructed a cinema hall -- Nagesh Theatre -- at T Nagar. But it was sold to a third party in 2009 and it was converted into a marriage hall.
While so, plaintiff and his family members were shocked to see advertisements and teasers of the film titled ‘Nagesh Thiraiyarangam’. The title has been used without the knowledge and consent of the plaintiff and his family members. It has been used to tarnish the image of the legendary actor Nagesh.
It has affected his sentiments and that of his family members. The whole story of the film, a horror movie, revolves round the erstwhile popular Nagesh Theatre. It is unfortunate that the producer and the director had chosen the legendary name of Nagesh Theatre to make their film popular. They exploited the name to gain free publicity without considering the sentiments of the plaintiff and his family, Babu contended.
He prayed the court to restrain the producer and director from using the name Nagesh, declare the use of the name as illegal and claimed `50 lakh towards damages/compensation for having tarnished his father’s name.