Prakash Mehra's sons are amused by the fact that Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar are planning to file a legal complaint on the basis of a proposed copyrigh law, which is yet to be implemented, reports Mumbai Mirror. "We have remained quiet till now simply because Salim saab and Javed saab are
veterans. But the way they have been going on about my father is totally unjustified. They have said that our production house made loads of money from Zanjeer. As if my father did not have any role in the film's success. That too being the director. They make things sound as if we made money but did not pay them,” Puneet told Mumbai Mirror.
"Have they forgotten that at least three top heroes refused Zanjeer on the basis of its script - Dharmendra, Dev Anand and Rajkumar? Yet my father stood by them. Though they never worked with my father after Zanjeer, its not like we stopped making blockbusters,” he said.
"I am really amused by the fact that they are talking on the basis of a proposed copyright law, which is yet to be implemented. And even if it gets implemented, it would come into play from that day. Zanjeer 2.0 has already gone on floors. So what is the noise all about?" He added.
As the remake of 1973 film Zanjeer reels under copyright issues, writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar of the duo Salim-Javed, who wrote the original movie, hopes to resolve the problem amicably. "We have sent them a notice but we really hope they will solve it. We hope the problem will be solved amicably and we can sit across the table and decide. If not, then we will have to take another step," Akhtar told reporters.
Akhtar is miffed after the makers decided to begin shooting for the remake without getting the go-ahead from Salim and Javed. He says the producer doesn't have the right to make the film in other language. "Yes, he (Amit Mehra) had the right to make the film, but he did not have the right to remake the film. He did not have the right to make the film in other language. And now that they are remaking it in Telugu and Hindi, they have to take permission from us," said Akhtar. "Besides that, they are making certain changes in the script. We have not surrendered our moral rights to the producer, we have never done so. So, they cannot make it without our permission," he added.