Court refuses to stay release of 'Nishabd'

New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Thursday declined to stay the release of Ram Gopal Varma's controversial Amitabh Bachchan starrer "Nishabd" that releases Friday.

However, a division bench comprising Chief Justice M.K. Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna issued notice to Ram Gopal Varma, RGV Films and the censor board on a revision petition filed by film director Jahar Kanungo accusing Varma of plagiarism.

The court asked the respondents to file their replies by April 9.

Kanungo, who has made a Bengali art film called "Nisshabd", accused Varma of resorting to plagiarism and sought a court direction seeking stay on the release of the movie.

Kanungo's counsel Kartik Jai Shanker had mentioned the matter Wednesday before the division bench that posted the matter for hearing Thursday.

On Tuesday, a single bench of Justice A.K. Sikri had dismissed Kanungo's petition, squarely blaming him for not getting legal reprieve because he approached the court late.

'Nishabd', directed by Varma, tells the story of a 65-year-old man, infatuated with a girl of his daughter's age. The lead roles in the film have been played by Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah Khan and Rewati.

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Nishabd