Famous Bollywood director Aditya Dhar’s film ‘Dhurandhar’ earned a lot at the box office, but along with this the film was also embroiled in a legal dispute. A director Santosh Kumar had accused the director of ‘Dhurandhar’ of stealing the script of the film. Also, in a press conference, Santosh spoke ill of Aditya Dhar.
After this Aditya Dhar had filed a defamation claim against Santosh Kumar. Now the decision of this case has come.
What was the dispute?
The controversy started when Santosh Kumar claimed that Aditya Dhar’s film ‘Dhurandhar’ is a copy of his 2023 registered script ‘D-Saheb’. Santosh Kumar repeatedly accused Aditya Dhar of script theft in press conferences and media. Hurt by these statements, Aditya Dhar approached the Bombay High Court and filed a defamation case against Santosh Kumar.
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Apology received in court
On Tuesday, the hearing of this case took place before the bench of Justice Arif Doctor. During the hearing, Santosh Kumar’s lawyer apologized unconditionally for the statements given by him. The lawyer appearing on behalf of Aditya Dhar accepted this apology and said that now he does not want to pursue the claim for damages. After this the court settled this defamation case.
Claim of script theft still intact
Even though the defamation case is over, the court has given a big relief to Santosh Kumar. The judge clarified that Santosh Kumar still has the right to initiate separate legal action regarding his ownership rights on the script of the film ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026)’. According to the court order, the settlement of defamation will not come in the way of the claim of script theft.
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Talking about the film ‘Dhurandhar’, this film was released on 5 December last year. It had earned Rs 1000 crore in India and more than Rs 1300 crore worldwide. After this, its sequel ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, released on March 19, 2026, broke all records. This film starring stars like Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun and Arjun Rampal has so far collected Rs 1788 crore worldwide.