HC restrains release of Rajinikanth starrer Darbar in Malaysia

Rajinikanth's starrer Darbar gets green light for its worldwide theatrical screening but faces hiccups in its release in Malaysia. Madras HC has restrained the release of the superstar's film until the dues of the movie are cleared in the country.

Mumbai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday cleared the release of superstar Rajinikanth starrer Darbar worldwide, barring in Malaysia in view of a financial dispute raised by a distributor from that country.

Justice G Jeyachandran passed the order on a civil suit filed by Malaysia-based DMY Creations SDN BHD seeking to stall the January 9 release of the film on grounds that its producer Lyca Productions owed it over Rs 23 crore.

The judge ordered that the film can be released in Malaysia if the producer furnished a bank guarantee equal to the dues in the name of the Registrar General of the court or deposit the amount into the credit of the suit.

On January 3, 2020, he had reserved orders on the suit after hearing arguments.

DMY Creations claimed Lyca had promised to clear the "dues" before the release of Darbar.

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Besides Rajinikanth, the film also features Nayanthara and Suniel Shetty in pivotal roles, among others. Apart from clearing the dues, it further promised to give first preference to them for the film.

But it was learnt that Lyca had been negotiating with some others to give territorial rights in the Malaysian region.

The petitioner had sought an interim order restraining Lyca from releasing Darbar before settling the dues.

Counsel for Lyca had contended that the claim of the Malaysian firm was "false" and "baseless."