'Border' profits dispute: JP Dutta calls Bharat Shah's lawsuit 'baseless'
What's the story
The legal battle between filmmaker JP Dutta and financier Bharat Shah over the profits from the 1997 film Border has intensified.
Shah recently filed a lawsuit against Dutta for allegedly not receiving his share of the film's profits.
In response, Dutta and his daughter Nidhi have issued a press release refuting these claims. They described Shah's allegations as "false," and accused him of failing to honor the Deed of Settlement.
Press release
'False, unfounded, baseless': Nidhi refuted Shah's claims
Nidhi, who is producing the sequel to Border, issued a statement on behalf of J.P. Films on Wednesday.
The press release read: "The public notice issued in film trade journal/s by Little & Co. (Advocates & Solicitors) on behalf of their clients Bharat Shah and Bina Bharat Shah making accusations against JP Dutta concerning the accounts of the film Border is false, unfounded, baseless and mischievous in intent aimed at creating public sensationalism."
Statement
'Bharat Shah has deliberately failed to abide by...'
The statement further read, "Contrary to what is stated in the notice, it is Bharat Shah who has deliberately failed to abide by the Deed of Settlement. The matter being sub-judice, JP Films considers it appropriate to let the sanctity of the settlement and course of justice to prevail."
"As ever, JP Dutta and JP Films are committed to creating clean entertainment that touches the soul of our eternal nation."
Involvement clarification
Nidhi clarified Shah's involvement in 'Border 2'
In a separate interview with Zoom, Nidhi clarified that Shah has no involvement in the upcoming Border 2.
She stated, "The honorable High Court has all the facts since years and has dismissed the case in our favor."
"As per the deed of settlement...is first supposed to pay the overflow to us that he hasn't paid for 27 years or given us one record of any of the film's business till today."
Sequel update
'Border 2' is set to release in 2026
She further added, "This is why the settlement states we are not liable to him for anything only once he stands by his commitment and gives us our overflow pending since 27 years then we can take this further. But he anyway has no part in Border 2."
The sequel to the iconic film is currently in production and scheduled for release during the Republic Day weekend of 2026.
It will feature Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, and Diljit Dosanjh.