- Phantom Studios sued JioStar for Rs 250 crore over unauthorized use of Queen's rights
- Phantom Studios owns 50% rights to Queen, including sequel and adaptation rights
- Phantom filed the case in Bombay High Court after failed settlement talks
Kangana Ranaut's Queen 2 has landed in legal trouble after Phantom Studios filed a Rs 250-crore lawsuit against JioStar India Private Limited in the Bombay High Court, alleging the "unauthorised use" of its intellectual property. The suit seeks an injunction against the release of the film as well as damages of Rs 250 crore.
According to the suit, filed through legal firm Rashmikant and Partners, Phantom Studios owns 50 per cent of the rights to the 2014 film Queen, including the rights to any future sequels or prequels. The studio claimed that an agreement signed when the original film was made gave both Phantom and JioStar equal rights over any sequel or prequel.
Earlier, sources told Mid-Day that Phantom Studios had repeatedly communicated its objections to JioStar and director Vikas Bahl before approaching the court. The report also claimed that settlement discussions had taken place, but no resolution was reached. Another source alleged that Phantom decided to initiate legal proceedings after learning that Queen 2 had completed filming.
Responding to the lawsuit, JioStar denied the allegations and maintained that the upcoming film is not connected to the 2014 hit.
In a statement, the company said, "The new film has an original, independent story. It has no narrative, character or creative connection to any prior work, and is neither a sequel nor a prequel to any existing title."
JioStar further argued that the title cannot be exclusively owned by any one party. "The word 'Queen' is a part of the English language. No party can claim exclusive ownership over a common noun and any such claim has no basis in law," the statement added.
Queen 2 reunites Kangana Ranaut with director Vikas Bahl, who helmed the 2014 coming-of-age drama. The film went on floors earlier this year and wrapped production just a few days ago. Kangana recently shared a behind-the-scenes picture from the set on Instagram Stories, where she was seen feeding a slice of cake to Bahl after the shoot concluded.
Queen and the revival of Phantom
Queen was originally produced by Phantom Films, which was founded by Bahl, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, and Madhu Mantena.
It even won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. However, after Bahl's name surfaced during the MeToo movement, disagreements arose among the four founding members.
As the founders left the company one by one, Phantom Films was disbanded in 2019. Mantena, along with producer Sheetal Talwar, revived the company in 2022 as Phantom Studios, which produced Advait Chandan's romantic comedy Loveyapa, starring Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor, last year.
Queen, led by Kangana Ranaut, was a landmark film in her career, becoming a Rs 100-crore earner at the box office and cementing her position as a bankable star.
