A Chennai civil court granted Dream Warrior Pictures an interim injunction on Monday against the producers of the upcoming Ajay Devgn film 'Bholaa 2,' ordering all promotional activity to cease pending a full hearing scheduled for mid-April, according to court officials familiar with the matter. The ruling marks a significant escalation in the intellectual property dispute that emerged publicly over the weekend, when Dream Warrior — the production house behind the Tamil hit 'Kaithi' — filed a civil suit alleging that the Devgn-produced sequel substantially reproduces protected story elements from their 2019 franchise.
Dream Warrior Pictures, founded by producer S.R. Prabhu, had previously licensed 'Kaithi' to Ajay Devgn's production company for the original Hindi remake 'Bholaa,' released in 2023. However, the company contends that no agreement was ever reached covering a sequel, and that circulated script synopses for 'Bholaa 2' borrow core narrative architecture from 'Kaithi 2,' which Dream Warrior has been developing independently with director Lokesh Kanagaraj.
Legal representatives for Ajay Devgn Ffilms issued a brief statement Monday afternoon disputing the court's characterisation of events, arguing that the licensing arrangement from 2021 included sequel rights subject to a revenue-sharing clause that Dream Warrior has declined to honour. The Devgn camp indicated it would seek to vacate the injunction at the April 14 hearing, calling the move a 'negotiating tactic dressed in legal clothing.'
The dispute has drawn considerable attention across both Bollywood and the Tamil film industry, where 'Kaithi' remains a landmark action thriller and Lokesh Kanagaraj's reputation as a franchise architect is closely watched. Industry observers note that 'Kaithi 2' was widely expected to enter production in the third quarter of 2026, meaning any prolonged litigation could affect that timeline as well as 'Bholaa 2,' which had been targeting a 2027 Diwali release window.
Film trade analysts in Mumbai said the case highlights growing tensions around remake rights in Indian cinema as South-produced IP increasingly generates pan-India franchise value. 'The original deal structures were not written with multi-film universes in mind,' said one entertainment lawyer not connected to either party. 'Courts are now being asked to interpret agreements that simply didn't anticipate the scale these franchises have reached.' Both production houses are expected to pursue mediation options even as litigation proceeds.