Madras High Court
Kamal Bohra vs Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas on 28 June, 2024
Author: P.Velmurugan
Bench: P.Velmurugan
C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 28.06.2024
Coram:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.VELMURUGAN
C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024 and
A.No.1529 of 2024
Kamal Bohra ... Plaintiff
Vs.
Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas ... Defendant
Prayer: The plaint is filed under Order IV Rule 1 of O.S. Rules and
Order VII Rule 1 of Code of Civil Procedure praying to pass a judgment
and decree against the defendant on the following terms:-
a. Directing the defendant to pay the plaintiff the
principal amount of Rs.1,50,00,000/- (Rupees One
crore fifty lakhs only) along with an interest of
Rs.60,00,000/- calculated from the date of payment at
the rate of 24% per annum which totally amounts to
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
Rs. 2,10,00,000/- along with future interest of 24% per
annum on Rs.1,50,00,000/- from the date of the plaint
till the actual payment thereof;
b. Directing the defendant to pay a sum of
Rs.15,00,000/- as damages for breach of agreement
and non performance of his obligations;
c. For entire costs of the suit.
For Plaintiff : M/s.Arun C.Mohan
Sole Defendant : Set Ex-parte on 03.06.2024
JUDGMENT
This suit is filed to direct the defendant to pay the plaintiff the
principal amount of Rs.1,50,00,000/- (Rupees One crore fifty lakhs only)
along with interest of Rs.60,00,000/- calculated from the date of payment
at the rate of 24% per annum which totally amounts to Rs.2,10,00,000/-
along with future interest of 24% per annum on Rs.1,50,00,000/- from the
date of the plaint till the actual payment thereof; to direct the defendant to
pay a sum of Rs.15,00,000/- as damages for breach of agreement and non
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
performance of his obligations and for entire costs of the suit.
2. The brief averments of the plaint;
2.1. The plaintiff ventured into distribution of Hindi feature films
with a decade long experience and established his own production house
namely INFINITY FILM VENTURES along with other partners to
produce several prestigious projects. The Infiniti Film Ventures is a leading
Film Production Company based out of Chennai wherein, the Production
Company has successfully co-produced movies such as Kodiyil Oruvan.
The plaintiff currently has a string of films lined up for release including
movies such as Kolai, Ratham and Mazhai Pidikaadha Manidhan to name
a few.
2.2. The plaintiff and defendant, a Telugu Actor entered into a Lead
Hero Agreement dated 09.06.2022 ("Agreement") whereby, it was agreed
that the defendant's services will be utilized as the "Lead Hero" under the
main cast for one cinematographic film. Further as per clause 2 and 3 of
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
the agreement, it was agreed that the story, screenplay and the director of
the film shall be mutually discussed and fixed and that the defendant shall
provide the required working days for shooting, costumes & makeup trial,
photo shoot, workshop and promotional purpose considering the
significance of his role in the motion picture.
2.3. In consideration of the above mentioned services under clause 2
and 3 of the agreement, the plaintiff agreed to pay a consolidated
remuneration of Rs.8,50,00,000/- (Rupees Eight Crores and Fifty Lakhs
Only) as mentioned under clause 4 of the agreement. Further, as per the
schedule under clause 4 of the agreement, a sum of Rs.1,50,00,000/- was
agreed to be paid to the defendant upon execution of the agreement.
Accordingly, a sum of Rs.13,500,000/- after deducting the TDS amount
was paid on 09.06.2022 through RTGS bearing
No.10000148720220609003600000050.
2.4. While so, through their sources, the plaintiff was able to gather
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
information that the defendant is contractually bound to act in about 2
movies with another production company named PENN Studios Pvt. Ltd.
which was not revealed by the defendant during the execution of the
agreement. Further, in furtherance to the agreement with the defendant, the
plaintiff engaged with various technicians namely one Mr.Anandakrishnan
in the capacity of a Director and Mr.Sasanka Mouli in the capacity of a
Writer which was approved and agreed to by the defendant. In view of the
same, an advance amount of Rs.8,85,045/- was paid to Mr.Anandakrishnan
and an amount of Rs.1,80,000/- was paid to Mr.Sasanka Mouli for their
services respectively after deducting the TDS amount. The said amounts
were transferred by the plaintiff from his brother Mr.Pankaj Bohra and
wife Mrs.Hemalatha's bank accounts. The defendant with an intention to
delay the process constantly made radical changes to the script such as
changing the storyline from a city backdrop to a village setup which
further increased the expenses for the plaintiff. Additionally, while it was
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
agreed that the shooting of the movie would begin from 15.11.2022, the
defendant constantly delayed the same citing various reasons.
2.5. In view of the constant delay and disinterest shown by the
defendant in the project, the plaintiff tried contacting the defendant on
several junctures requesting him to return the consideration amount paid
by the plaintiff upon the execution of the agreement along with the interest.
The plaintiff had issued a notice dated 14th October, 2023 to the defendant
and the same got returned with a postal remark "Unclaimed". Hence, the
plaintiff traced an alternate address of the defendant and issued the notice
dated 9th November 2023 ("Notices") which was served upon the
defendant. However, the defendant has failed to acknowledge or reply to
the notice and has not complied with the plaintiff's request.
2.6. The plaintiff states that the defendant is in clear breach of the
agreement and is refusing to return the amount obtained as consideration
for the execution of the agreement. As on date, the plaintiff is entitled to
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
recover the principal amount of Rs.1,50,00,000 along with an interest of
Rs.60,00,000/- from the date of payment i.e., 09.06.2022 calculated at the
rate of 24% per annum.
2.7. As mentioned above, the paintiff had engaged with various
technicians and made commitments based on the agreement with the
defendant. In view of the same, the defendant's failure to perform his
obligations had caused incalculable loss. Therefore, the plaintiff is entitled
to seek damages against the defendant and the plaintiff values the same at
Rs.15,00,000/- for the purposes of the suit. The plaintiff further states that
this suit is not barred by limitation and is not hit by any other provisions of
statutory enactments.
3. Though the suit summon was served on the defendant and the
defendant also entered appearance through counsel, subequently, he did not
file the written statement within the time and therefore, the sole defendant
was set-exparte by this Court on 03.06.2024.
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
4. In order to substantiate his claim, the plaintiff filed his proof
affidavit for chief examination and reiterated the averments made in the
plaint in his proof affidavit. The plaintiff examined himself as P.W.1 and
marked 5 documents as Ex.P.1 to Ex.P.5 in which, Ex.P.1 is the original
Lead Hero Agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant dated
09.06.2022, Ex.P.2 is the printout of the bank statements showing transfer
of Rs.1,35,00,000/- by the plaintiff to the defendant (Section 65B
Certificate filed), Ex.P3 is the printout of the bank statement reflecting the
transfer of funds by the plaintiff from his brother Mr.Pankaj Bohra and
wife Mrs.Hemalatha's Bank accounts to Mr.Anandhakrishnan and
Mr.Sasanka Mouli (Section 65B Certificate filed), Ex.P4 is the office copy
of the notice dated 14.10.2023 issued by the plaintiff to the defendant
along with returned cover, Ex.P5 is the office copy of the notice dated
09.11.2023 issued to the defendant's alternate address along with postal
tracking report from India Post Website.
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
5. The sole defendant remained ex-parte. The proof affidavit filed by
the plaintiff and also the documents marked on the side of the plaintiff are
un-challenged.
6. On a perusal of the averments made in the plaint and proof
affidavit of P.W.1 and also the documentary evidence marked on the side
of the plaintiff, this Court finds that the plaintiff has proved his claim.
7. Therefore, the suit is decreed as prayed for with costs.
Consequently, the connected application is closed.
28.06.2024
(1/2)
ksa-2
Witness examined on the side of the plaintiff;
Mr.Kamal Bohra - P.W.1
List of exhibits marked on the side of the plaintiff:
S.No. Exhibits Description of documents
1 Ex.P.1 The original Lead Hero Agreement between the
plaintiff and the defendant dated 09.06.2022
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
S.No. Exhibits Description of documents
2 Ex.P.2 The printout of the bank statements showing transfer
of Rs.1,35,00,000/- by the plaintiff to the defendant
(Section 65B Certificate filed)
3 Ex.P.3 The printout of the bank statement reflecting the
transfer of funds by the plaintiff from his brother
Mr.Pankaj Bohra and wife Mrs.Hemalatha's Bank
accounts to Mr.Anandhakrishnan and Mr.Sasanka
Mouli (Section 65B Certificate filed)
4 Ex.P.4 The office copy of the notice dated 14.10.2023
issued by the plaintiff to the defendant along with
returned cover
5 Ex.P.5 The office copy of the notice dated 09.11.2023
issued to the defendant's alternate address along with
postal tracking report from India Post Website.
List of witnesses examined on the side of the defendant - Nil
List of exhibits marked on the side of the defendant - Nil
28.06.2024
(2/2)
Index : Yes / No
Speaking Order : Yes / No
Neutral Case Citation : Yes/No
Ksa-2
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C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
P.VELMURUGAN. J.
Ksa-2
C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.60 of 2024
28.06.2024
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