Patna court pronounces verdict in favour of Ketan Mehta to release The Mountain Man

In a relief to acclaimed filmmaker Ketan Mehta, the Patna civil court has dismissed the petition of producer Sanjay Singh asking to stay the release of Manjhi – The Mountain Man. The court passed the verdict in favour of Mehta who can now release his film. Here it may be mentioned that Singh was also making a biopic based on the life of Dashrath Manjhi that was being directed by Manish Jha. Said a much-relieved Ketan Mehta, “It’s a global inspiring story with brilliant performances by all the artistes. In these cynical times it’s a story of hope, a tribute to the triumph of human spirit. How can any one stop it from reaching out to the people?” Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Manjhi – The Mountain Man is based on the real life story of Dashrath Manjhi, a poor man who broke a mountain for love. Set in 1960, the film tells the inspiring real love story of a poor Shah Jahan. Over 22 years, with just a hammer and a chisel, he carved out a path through a mountain, in memory of his beloved wife who had fallen down while trying to cross it. He did it so that no one else would have to suffer her fate. Inspired by his story, ace director Ketan Mehta decided to make a film on it. The shooting for the project was completed in October-November last year on the actual locations in a remote area of Bihar. However after the completion of the shooting, Singh, a resident of Bihar brought a stay on the release of the film on the ground that, Dashrath Manjhi while on his death bed, in ICU, had put his thumb impression on an agreement, giving away exclusive rights him to make a film on his life. While proving that Dashrath Manjhi was not even in Patna on the date of the agreement, Ketan Mehta argued that though Manjhi was a very poor man, he was also very famous for his incredible deed and was already a public figure. The court upheld the argument while lifting the stay order and allowing the release of the film. Reminiscing about the whole episode Ketan Mehta’s wife and producer of the film Deepa Sahi said, “We were shocked to get the notice- even Majhi’s son had no idea about the so called rights being given by the person claiming them! As the counsel said- how can anyone have the “right” to make a film on Gandhiji’s life? You can have the right to a novel- not to a public figure’s life! So the court ruling was in our favour but the case caused a lot of inconvenience.” Manjhi – The Mountain Man is a co-production between Maya Movies Pvt. Ltd. and National Film Development Corporation. It is co-written and directed by Ketan Mehta and produced by Deepa Sahi and Nina Lath Gupta. The film is now ready for release.