The BBC is reporting that Warner Bros. has filed suit against a film company in India for infringing on intellectual property rights in titling an upcoming movie: “Hari Puttar – A Comedy Of Terrors.” A spokesperson confirmed that a lawsuit was filed against Mirchi Movies and is expected to be heard before the Bombay High Court. According to the article, WB felt the title was ‘too similar to that of its world famous young wizard.’ Deborah Lincoln, a spokesperson for WB, is quoted as saying: “We have recently commenced proceedings against parties involved in the production and distribution of a movie entitled Hari Puttar.” Munish Purii, from Mirchi Movies, is also quoted in the article, relating that “We registered the Hari Puttar title in 2005 and it’s unfortunate that Warner has chosen to file a case so close to our film’s release.” The report goes on to note in regards to the title of the film, ‘Hari is a popular Indian name while Puttar means son in Punjabi.’ “Hari Puttar – A Comedy Of Terrors” is slated for release in India on September 12.
My opinion – I believe that WB is quite justified objecting to the name of this movie. Could have been called anything else but the name is being used as a lure to the film. The name is a cheap knock off period.
is this Hari Puttar movie even about a boy wizard who goes to Hogwarts???? Doesnt sound like it. WB just back off. This is a bit pathetic. It just proves that WB thinks they own the world and can control everyone.
I went to the BBC story to check what the film was about. I thought, if it’s a Harry Potter spoof then maybe they need to alter the title a bit more, but if it’s something completely different, and the titles just happen to be similar, then let it go, no one is going to look at the cover and think, cool, Harry Potter. The article says “It tells the story of a 10-year-old boy who moves to England with his parents and becomes embroiled in a battle over a secret microchip.”
Okay, we do meet Harry when he’s 10 and it is set in England, but I don’t remember any secret microchips in the Pensive, do you? Let it go WB. It’s a small world with only so many words in it. Sharing required.
Well, I’m relieved to see the majority agree this lawsuit is insane. WB has gotten out of control, there’s too much of an eagerness to file lawsuits within the Potter franchise, Hari Putter is a legitimate Indian name. What’s going to happen next? will WB file suits again all individuals with the last name of Potter throughout the world? History repeats itself, the Potter franchise is becoming as political as the Star Wars franchise, for shame.
“Hari Puttar”, slated to open in cinemas on September 12, is the story of a young boy fighting two criminals who are trying to steal a secret formula devised by the boy’s scientist father.
Maybe not the synopsis. but the characterisation of “intrepid kid hero” sort of relates a bit. shrugs And I swear that Hari Puttar is an actual HP joke. (not a very good one… but enough to stir up publicity)...
HAHAHAHA I’m sorry my first reaction to this was my mouth falling open and then a suppressed burst of laughter (but only b/c I’m in class at the moment)! This is too funny to me for several reasons:
(1) I have a southeast asian ethnic background, and thus bollywood films were a way of life for me growing up, I’ve seen several and I continue to watch them (maybe not as often as before, but I still usually see the big blockbuster films) and I was a little surprised to find out this is a bollywood film
(2) The hypothetical name “Hari Puttar” has been thrown around in my house and those of my friends & family for years now, ever since the first HP film came out and the series gained popularity worldwide, but I never thought it would actually become a character—in reality, I’ve heard it as more of a joke than anything (i.e. Q: “What would the Indian version of harry potter be called?” A: “Hari Puttar” [for precisely the same reasons cited by Munish Purii: “puttar,” in my understanding, means something like “son” or “child”; I’ve been addressed by my friends’ parents with an equivalent word in Urdu).
(3) I’ve even seen a bengali copy of the first book (probably unofficial) at my cousin’s house in bangladesh circa 2003, and the title was pretty much spelled & pronounced the same way, but that’s only b/c it’s harder for bengali ppl to pronounce it the proper, english way and that’s the closest spelling they could use
(4) If you read the description of this film on imdb, it sounds more like a knockoff of a Home Alone film, certainly not Harry Potter (which, btw, for those of you young’uns who may not know, was directed by Chris Columbus, who also happened to direct the first two HP films—random connections, like on LOST!)
OK and with that tangent I’m done now. This is so silly. Bye.
Yeah! If your birth name is Harry Potter, you had best run out now and change it! Never know when good old WB’s will be sending their lawyers after you! They might miss the royalties if someone says your name! Gaaaaaahhh!
I know! Maybe they are going to add this “Hari Puttar” character or theme into the
HBP movie! That must be the real reason they moved the movie!................
So silly.
Jo? We need another good book from you. We need a new “fix”! Even if it is not HP related! Something to take our minds off the heresy that Warner Bros. has created.
We miss you.
Warner Bros, play nice. Quit bullying and just give us our movie back and all will be forgotten.
Didn’t they go after people for trying to use the name Harry Potter in the Troll 2 movie?
However, there was a character named Harry Potter in original movie that was made in the 80’s…..
Not lying, I would have thought the Indian named movie was some kind of spoof without knowing anything about it.
However, there are the Barry Trotter series. However, there’s no action against them? Is it because they are books, because they are definite spoofs…...
If the only connection between the two is the name of the lead character, I don’t think Warner is right. If they were, then the woman that had written stories about a boy named Harry Potter bEFORE Jo started her stories, would have won her case, and Jo wouldn’t’ve been able to use that name either.
This movie doesn’t even use the EXACT same name, and also, the story is completely different.
So not agreeing there. Warner won’t win this. They’ll only make life miserable for that film company for a short while.
Here’s my thing: unless the movie is about a boy who finds out that he’s a wizard and goes to a school to learn magic while also trying to save the world, which judging by amar’s post its not, I don’t see why WB should sue them.
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My opinion – I believe that WB is quite justified objecting to the name of this movie. Could have been called anything else but the name is being used as a lure to the film. The name is a cheap knock off period.