A Kolkata-based journalist was questioned by police on Friday, 14 September, for alleging that an upcoming Bengali movie was the remake of a Pakistani film, Scroll reported.
The movie in question stars Trinamool Congress MP Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev.
Indranil Roy, an entertainment journalist working with Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin, had tweeted on Thursday that the film, Hoichoi Unlimited, was a remake of Pakistani film Jawani Phir Nahi Ani.
Roy was soon booked under Sections 43 (getting access, making changes or contaminating documents on a person’s computer or computer network without permission ) and 66 (sending offensive messages through a communication service) of the Information Technology Act, and Section 505 (circulating statements, rumours or reports that may cause offence to or harm the public) of the Indian Penal Code, according to Scroll.
The FIR against Roy was reportedly filed by Adhikari’s production house, Dev Entertainment Ventures. When contacted by Scroll, however, a spokesperson from the production house denied any knowledge of the incident.
Roy also alleged on Twitter that other users have accused him of editing the Wikipedia page of Jawani Phir Nahi Ani to claim that the Bengali film is its remake.
Roy then posted screenshots of the IP addresses of the editors making changes to the Wikipedia page, which included the line “edited by Indranil Roy”.
In another tweet, Roy posted the name of the alleged owner of the IP addresses that were traced to Vijaywada.
While saying that he understands the fans’ rage, Roy said he did not expect an FIR.
“When the film releases on 12 October, it will be crystal clear if the film has been copied. I understand the fans’ rage. I was surprised since Dev [Deepak Adhikari] is West Bengal’s biggest star,” said Roy, as quoted by Scroll.
(With inputs from Scroll)
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