Exclusive | Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare: Filmmakers to legally contest Ramya's court notice

Actress and former member of parliament, Ramya, recently filed a legal suit against the team of Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare, alleging that the filmmakers used clips featuring her in the trailer and also the full-length film without her consent. 

Through a legal team, the actress sought a permanent injunction against the usage of her clips in any of the film's trailers (or other promotional content) and the final film, which is scheduled to arrive in theatres on July 21, 2023. Alongside, as a temporary measure, the team of Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare has been ordered to take down the trailer from the internet and also halt the film's theatrical release.

Ramya has also demanded Rs. 1 crore as compensation for the damages suffered. The suit has been filed at a commercial court in Bengaluru.

To know more about this:
Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare: Hours before release, actress Ramya issues legal notice against use of her clips in film 

The notice, of course, has sprung a big blow on the filmmakers who have suddenly found themselves in the thick of a legal battle. Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare has been touted as a promising box office entry with the pre-release 'buzz', so to speak, alluding suggesting quite strongly that a large audience awaited the film's release. However, the last-minute legal intervention has forced them to drop their marketing/promotion plans and duly address the matter.

The team of Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare has now responded to the suit at the same Bengaluru commercial court, stating that they had the actress' complete consent while shooting her portions and that there is no violation of the agreement held between the two parties.

Speaking to OTTplay, the director of Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare, Nithin Krishnamurthy, shares, "We have responded to the notice through our legal team and hope to receive a positive verdict from the court of law at the earliest. The collaboration with Ramya Ma'am was done with complete clarity and there's no misuse, whatsoever, of her portions in the film. So, we certainly hope to receive a verdict in our favour so that we can hit the strides."

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Dhruva Sarja on Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare: 'Really missed my brother after watching the film' 

However, despite having a legal team on their side, Nithin feels that the mess only jeopardizes the film's theatrical release. "A lot of the planning happens with a specific release date in sight so when something like this occurs at the very last minute, you just cannot fathom halting or delaying the release. Not only have we missed out on promoting the film over the last couple of days (because of the legal matter) but the film's eventual box office performance takes a huge hit. Since the issue is out in public, many potential audience members are now sceptical about booking their tickets online because they are not sure if the film will release as planned or not. That further impacts the projections we had for the opening day. And all we can now do is wait for the verdict and if it is positive, we will have to inform exhibitors all over that we are good to go," adds Nithin Krishnamurthy.

Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare is produced by Varun Gowda, Prajwal BP and cinematographer Arvind Kashyap under the Gulmohur Films & Varrun Studios banners. Rakshit Shetty presents the film under the Paramvah Studios banner.