Court stays release of Telugu film `Swami Sathyananda`

A court here Friday restrained producers of Telugu film `Swami Sathyananda`, believed to have been based on the life of controversial self-styled godman Nithyananda, from releasing, promoting or exhibiting the movie in any manner till December 2.

Passing orders on three Interlocutory applications filed by Nityananda, who was arrested last year on criminal charges, including rape, Additional Civil and Sessions Judge Aswath Narayana adjourned further hearing to December 2.

Earlier, the court had passed an injunction order restraining the release or promotion of the Kannada version of the film, `Sathyananda`, directed by Madan Patel, an actor-turned-politician, in any manner.

Senior counsel for Nithyananda, K V Dhananjay submitted that the defendants cannot take the very visuals shot for the
Kannada film `Sathyananda` and add Telugu dialogues over it and call the film as `Swami Sathyananda` and claim that it was an entirely different film. Such modification is never bonafide, he argued.

The only reasonable inference and conclusion that could be drawn here is that such a modification had been done for the "deliberate purpose" of breaching the September 20 stay granted by the court on the release of the Kannada film, he said.