Hari Puttar is set to hit cinema screens this week after an Indian court rejected a Warner Bros. suit claiming the name was too close to its Harry Potter series.
Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio had sued an Indian film company over the title of upcoming film "Hari Puttar — A Comedy Of Terrors," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Warner Bros. said the name was too similar to that of its megahit franchise.
A spokesman confirmed the lawsuit against Mumbai-based Mirchi Movies. The case is reportedly due to be heard in Bombay High Court. The film is due to open in India on Sept. 12.
The court said in its ruling Monday that people who have watched the Harry Potter movies and read the books would know the difference between that and an Indian Punjabi film called "Hari Puttar – A Comedy of Terrors. "
Hari is a common name in India and Hindi for God, while "puttar" is Punjabi for son.
"It’s clearly great to have won this case," Munish Purii, Mirchi’s chief executive told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "We are hoping for a good release although the timing of the Warner case distracted us from marketing."
"Hari Puttar" is not a tale of magic, but the story of an Indian boy and his cousin forgotten at home in Britain where his family has recently moved – in a plot more reminiscent of the film "Home Alone." In the Indian film, 10-year-old Hari Puttar must guard his scientist father’s top security computer chip from bumbling burglars, while his parents are away.
Purii said "Hari Puttar" would be released across India on Friday and globally next month.
"It talks about the freedom of a child when he is left alone in the house with his cousin and the funny situations that follow when two burglars try getting into the house to get hold of a chip that his father has been secretly working on," said Purii.
So far very few children’s films have made it big at the box office. But the legal controversy surrounding the movie may help draw some curious moviegoers.
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