NEW DELHI: Coomi Kapoor, a noted journalist and author of the book — The Emergency — has decided to take legal action against the producer of movie ‘Emergency’ (Manikarnika Films Pvt Ltd, a company owned by the family of actress turned politician Kangana Ranaut) and over-the-top (OTT) streaming service provider Netflix for alleged breach of contract, causing damage to her reputation.
Kapoor said the Kangana-Anupam Kher starrer film has inaccuracies and despite her assertion attribution—“based on Coomi Kapoor’s book; The Emergency”— has not been removed from the version of the movie on Netflix.
She had conveyed her grievances to Aksht Ranaut, a representative of Manikarnika Films Pvt Ltd, however, they remained unanswered.
“I sent two legal notices. Inaccuracies in the film were mentioned in the notices however no proper reply was given. So I have decided to move Delhi High Court to initiate action against the producers and Netflix,” Kapoor said.
According to Kapoor, Aksht sought permission to buy the rights of her book when she met him in Mumbai in 2021.
She further stated that subsequently, a tripartite contract was signed by Manikarnika Films, the publisher of the book and herself.
The contract stipulated that the author’s name and book should not be used for promoting or exploiting the film without the prior approval of the author in writing, she added. The film script was not shown to her, Kapoor also alleged.
Despite attempts to seek their versions, no immediate response was available from Kangana, Akshat, Manikarnika Films Pvt Ltd and Netflix. OTT platform sources, however, said that the film is a licensed production and it was not originally produced by Netflix.
Kapoor also said that apprehending that the film might be at variance with the book, even before the film was completed, she sent Aksht two WhatsApp messages, since he had not answered her phone calls.
