Mumbai: The Bombay High Court disposed of the defamation suit filed by Aditya Dhar after filmmaker Santosh Kumar issued an unconditional apology for calling him a “thief.”
The high court on Tuesday took note of the apology, bringing an end to the legal dispute between the two filmmakers, Live Law reported.
“Mr Bhura, the counsel appearing on behalf of Santosh Kumar (who is present in Court) has tendered an apology for the statements made in the press meeting held on March 30, 2026. Dr Saraf, the Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of Aditya Dhar submits that, in light of the apology tendered, his client does not wish to precipitate the Suit for damages. He accepts the said apology and submits that the Suit can now be accordingly disposed of. In light of this, nothing further survives in the suit and the same is accordingly disposed of,” a single-judge bench of Justice Arif Doctor noted in the order.
However, the judge granted Santosh the liberty to pursue appropriate legal remedies in relation to his claim over the film’s script.
“It is made clear that if Kumar has any claim to make against the Plaintiff with regard to the script of the film ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026),’ he shall be at liberty to do so and that this order shall not, in any manner come in the way of such claim,” the order read.
‘Dhurandhar’, which released in theatres on December 5 last year, turned out to be a massive box-office hit, earning over Rs 1000 crore in India and crossing Rs 1300 crore globally.
The film follows an Indian spy, played by Ranveer, who goes undercover in Pakistan’s Lyari to infiltrate a Baloch gang. He takes on the role of Hamza Ali Mazari, also known as Jaskirat Singh Rangi, while Akshaye Khanna portrays the gang leader, Rehman Dakait.
Its sequel, ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, released on March 19 and has so far collected Rs 1788 crore worldwide.
Following the film’s release, Santosh accused the makers of copying the storyline from his script for ‘D Saheb’. He maintained that the script was officially registered with the Screenwriters Association of India and said he would take legal action against Aditya.
