Lock Upp: Hyderabad court issues stay order on Kangana Ranaut-hosted reality show

A Hyderabad court has ordered an ad-interim stay order on Kangana Ranaut's digital reality show Lock Upp, following a copyright infringement case was filed against the producers.

According to a Hindustan Times report, ALTBalaji and Balaji Telefilms along with producer and Balaji boss Ekta Kapoor, Karan Medi's MX Player and Endemol Shine have been named in the case.

The court has stalled the makers from releasing the show on any platform. The next hearing is scheduled for March 9. 

A Hyderabad businessman Sanober Baig had approached Hyderabad’s city civil court saying that Lock Upp plagiarises his idea of a show titled The Jail, which he had registered with the Screenwriters' Association in 2018. 

Baig said he was developing the concept along with director Shantanu Re and had been in touch with Endemol Shine's CEO Abhishek Rave about the same. Baig said that Rave was keen to work on the show once the pandemic was over. He said that he had even pitched the show to Star Plus.

Baig told Hindustan Times that by filing the court case, he is not looking for "fame or money." He added that his entire team had worked on The Jail for about eight months. 

On whether he sought credit or compensation, Baig said, "I would like to leave that for the court to decide. When I had the discussion in 2020, Endemol had assured me that we would do this as a joint concept. Then, he (Endemol CEO Rave)decided to share this with Alt Balaji and they have collaborated and are now doing this show. It is kind of backstabbing to me."

Hindustan Times states that the producers of Lock Upp are yet to respond to the order. However, the promos of the show no longer mention the February 27 release date. Nisha Rawal, Babita Phogat, Poonam Pandey, Karanvir Bohra, and Munawar Faruqui are set to feature on the show.