No One Can Claim Exclusivity Over Name Of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj : Bombay High Court Refuses To Stall Release Of Marathi Film

The Bombay High Court has recently ruled that no one can claim exclusive rights over the name of 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj', while rejecting a film producer's plea to stop the release of a Marathi movie using the Maratha ruler's name in its title.

A single bench of Justice Amit S. Jamsandekar made the observation while refusing relief in a plea by Everest Entertainment LLP, the producer of the 2009 Marathi film Mi Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoy.

The company had approached the court against filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar and others, alleging that their upcoming film Punha Shivaji Raje Bhosale was a “blatant and slavish copy” of its original work. 

Refusing any relief, the court said, “I do not have any hesitation in saying that the Plaintiff cannot claim any goodwill or exclusivity in these names or titles. As rightly pointed out by the Learned Counsel appearing for the Defendants that, the Plaintiff's is not the first film which is produced in the f ilm industry by using the name “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj” or "Shivajiraje Bhosale", etc. In any case, the name of "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj" in any form cannot be the subject matter of exclusivity. Therefore, I reject the Plaintiff's claim of exclusivity in the film's title.”

Everest had claimed copyright over the earlier film's script, dialogues and promotional materials and argued that the defendants' film was being wrongly marketed as a sequel of their copyrighted work.

The defendants, including one of the producers Zee Entertainment Enterprises, denied the allegations. They submitted that while Everest's film revolved around a common man rediscovering his Maharashtrian identity, their film focuses on the pain, suffering and suicide of farmers in Maharashtra.

They also contended that names like Shivaji Raje Bhosale and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj belong to history and  cannot be monopolised.

They further argued that the plaintiff was aware of the new film since April 2025 but had chosen to move the court only in October, just before its release on October 31.

After watching the film and reviewing the plaintiff's chart of alleged similarities, the court found no substantial reproduction of the earlier film's content. The court also said that a few similar dialogues were not enough to stop the film's release, as most of them are common Marathi expressions used in literature, theatre and cinema.

“By no stretch of imagination, even if these identical dialogues are used in the impugned film by the Defendants, no claim of copyright can be made by the Plaintiff…..Therefore, prima facie, the Plaintiff's claim of infringement of dialogues is unsustainable. If the Plaintiff's claim is accepted, the Plaintiff shall have exclusive rights to these dialogues for a period of the author's life plus 60 years. Thus, these words and dialogues will have to be practically deleted from Marathi literature for the benefit of the Plaintiff. Therefore, I reject the claim of the Plaintiff.”

Ultimately, holding that the Everest Entertainment had failed to make a case for copyright infringement, and noting that the plea was filed belatedly, the court refused any ad-interim relief.

“In view thereof, Prima facie, the plaintiff has failed to make out any case of copyright infringement or passing off. There is gross and inordinate delay in seeking equitable relief. There is no explanation for the delay. The balance of convenience heavily tilts in favour of the Defendants and against the Plaintiff.”

The film- Punha Shivaji Raje Bhosale, is scheduled to hit theatres on October 31.

Case Title: Everest Entertainment LLP v Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar and Ors

Case Number: COMMERCIAL IP L. NO. 32984 OF 2025

For Plaintiffs: Advocates Ravindra Suryawanshi, Tanvi Nandgaonkar, Archis Bhatt and Mr. Amogh Prasad Khadye i/by Bar and Brief Attorney, Advocates 

For Defendants: Advocate Harshand Bhadbhade along with Advocate Gouresh Mogre, Dileep Satale, Shagufa Patel, Vedastu Rane, Atreya Tambe, Saaniya Sait for Mahesh Manjrekar; Kunal Mehta along with Kunal Parekh, Nirali Atha instructed by Dua Associates for Zee Entertainment; Advocate Mandar Soman for other defendants 

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