Bollywood star Akshay Kumar and producer Ashwini Yardi’s next film on the life of Marathi comic actor Dada Kondke, which is based on a book, has not gone down too well with veteran actor Usha Chavan. Chavan, who played the leading lady of Dada Kondke in eight movies, claims the book portrays her in poor light. Chavan is upset with directing the film based on Anita Padhye’s book, Ekta Jeev. She had filed a civil lawsuit against the book in 1999, which is still pending in the district court.
 

The veteran actor wants the film to be based on Abhay Paranjape’s book, Songadya. She has threatened to take legal action against Padhye, Kumar and Yardi if they go ahead with the movie based on Ekta Jeev. In November 1999, Chavan had filed the civil lawsuit alleging that the book maligns her. She is claiming damages of Rs25 crore from Padhye and the book’s publisher. Initially, she had also named Dada Kondke Trust as a respondent in her case but later the court relieved the trust. The case is now being heard by the second civil judge senior division. The book’s eighth edition is now available in the market.

Chavan said, “I came to know about the film’s plan after reading about it in the newspapers. The report said the film is based on Ekta Jeev, the book against which I have been fighting a legal battle since 1999. The fact that Akshay Kumar and Ashwini Yardi have taken copyrights of the book hurts me a lot.” She alleged, “The book is a figment of Padhye’s imagination, which maligns my image. The book became a nightmare for me when it was published. It is a double meaning book wherein fictitious material has been used with a bad intention to defame many Marathi film artistes besides me.

The author has inserted phrases in Dada’s mouth.” Chavan’s son Hriday said, “Soon after we filed the civil lawsuit in Pune district court and obtained a stay on the book’s circulation in 1999, Anita moved Bombay high court. The high court had given a conditional order and dismissed her petition for non-complying of the conditional order. This means the book is still banned. However, copies of the books are available in market. This is complete contempt of the court’s order.”