Earlier this month, Phantom Studios India Private Limited approached the Bombay High Court against Jiostar India Private Limited and Trigger Happy Entertainment Private Limited over the proposed film Queen Forever, which has also been referred to in reports as Queen 2. The production company has sought urgent reliefs to restrain the defendants from proceeding with the Kangana Ranaut-starrer without its written consent. In its plaint, Phantom Studios has claimed that it jointly and equally owns 50% of all intellectual property rights in the 2014 film Queen, including sequel, prequel, remake and other derivative rights. It has relied on a co-production agreement executed in August 2012 between Phantom Films and Viacom18, as well as a 2022 deed through which Phantom Films’ rights were transferred to Phantom Studios. Jiostar subsequently inherited Viacom18’s contractual rights and obligations following the corporate merger. The matter was heard on July 4 and again on July 9. The next hearing is scheduled for August 4. Interestingly, the dispute over the second instalment of Queen has a surprising connection with the multi-starrer Singham Again, starring Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor. In this article, Bollywood Hungama reveals the link between the two films.
The first part, Queen, released in 2014 and was produced by Phantom Films. The banner was disbanded in 2019 following disagreements among its founding members. The banner was later revived in 2022 as Phantom Studios by producer Sheetal Talwar and Madhu Mantena. At the same time, they also acquired extensive library assets from Reliance Entertainment.
Phantom Films was jointly established in 2011 by Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap and Madhu Mantena and soon earned a following thanks to acclaimed films like Lootera (2013), NH 10 (2015), Masaan (2015), Udta Punjab (2016) and, of course, Queen. As per a 2024 article in Mint, the four founders held an equal 25% stake in the company.
The Mint article further revealed that in 2015, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment acquired a 50% stake in Phantom. As a result, the shares of the four filmmakers were reduced to 12.50% each. After the company was disbanded, Sheetal Talwar and Madhu Mantena bought out Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap’s stakes. Meanwhile, Reliance Entertainment retained its 50% shares.
After Reliance ADAG Group faced a legal battle, it transferred the Phantom brand, its film library and Rs. 85 crores in cash to Sheetal Talwar and Madhu Mantena in 2022; this was confirmed by Sheetal to Mint in the same article. According to the Mint report, in 2024, Sheetal Talwar’s Vistaar Group took full ownership of Phantom Studios, acquiring the remaining 30% stake from Madhu Mantena. After this acquisition, Sheetal Talwar owns a 100% stake in the film production company.
The same year, Singham Again was released during Diwali and, according to an industry source, its makers had encountered a somewhat similar rights-related situation.
A source told Bollywood Hungama, “Singham (2011) was produced by Reliance Entertainment. Since Phantom acquired Reliance’s film assets, it also gained an interest in the Singham franchise. When Singham Again was being made, Rohit Shetty and his team were informed about the new arrangement. As Sheetal Talwar had a stake in the franchise, a handsome amount in double digits was paid to him.”
The source added that the amount was never disclosed and that only Rohit Shetty, Sheetal Talwar and a few other core members were aware of the actual sum paid.
This reportedly explains why not only Reliance Entertainment but also Sheetal Talwar’s other company, Cinergy, received an ‘In association with’ credit on Singham Again. The logos of both banners also appear at the beginning of the film.
More Pages: Queen Forever Box Office Collection , Queen Forever Movie Review
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