'Mulk': Mumbai court grants interim stay on release of Rishi Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu's film

An application was filed by one Vandana Punwana who sought stay on the release of the film as she claimed that she had some property rent dues dispute with production and entertainment agency, the Benaras Media Works Limited. She claimed that the company has links with the movie and hence the release of the film should stay till the dispute was resolved. 

As per the application filed, the agency, in 2011, had taken on rent Vandana’s bungalow in the city and had wanted to convert it into an office space. However, when they couldn’t get the required permission to do so, they refused to pay her the rent. 

To get her rent dues, she approached the Dindoshi sessions court seeking to recover rent. In the application, she claimed the rent due was to the amount around Rs 50 lakh.

Today, additional sessions judge M H Shaikh granted an interim stay on the release of the movie and posted the application for further hearing on August 2. 

Earlier Mulk director Abhinav Sinha’s lawyer Vibhav Krishna on the case said, "Punwani in her application has made false claims that the Benaras Media Works has links with Mulk director Abhinav Sinha. These are not true. We are yet to receive the court's order staying the release. But tomorrow we will either seek clarification from the same court or approach the Bombay High Court.”

Sinha, while reacting to the development, said he has not been served any such order.

"If someone has mischievously misled the court and if the court has really passed such an order we shall move a petition to vacate the same. Logistically all arrangements are in place to release the film on 3 August," Sinha said.

The film stars Rishi Kapoor and Taapsee Pannu in key roles and centres around a Muslim family caught in a terror plot.