/ 22 September 2008

Indian court backs Hari Puttar film

A New Delhi court on Monday dismissed a petition by Hollywood studio Warner Bros against the makers of Bollywood film Hari Puttar over its title, a lawyer for the Indian producers said.

Warner Bros, which owns the rights to the hugely successful Harry Potter movies, took the producers to court over the film’s title, saying it sounded too similar to the name of their young wizard hero.

“The case has been dismissed. The court said that Warner Bros had known the title of the film since 2005,” said lawyer Pratibha Singh.

The film was due to open earlier this month, but its producers delayed its release due to the legal row.

Hari Puttar, a comedy about a 10-year-old Indian boy whose family moves to England, is now due to hit cinemas here on Friday. – AFP