Mumbai:

Zee Entertainment Enterprises on Tuesday moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue certificate for the film “Emergency”, helmed by Kangana Ranaut.

The court agreed to hear it on Wednesday. Zee Entertainment is the producer of the film.

Scheduled for release on September 6, the biographical drama is caught up in controversy after Sikh organisations including the Shiromani Akali Dal objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong.

The petition before the high court claimed that the CBFC has “illegally and arbitrarily” withheld the certification.

As per a lawyer, the petition claimed that the Censor board was ready with the certificate, but not issuing it.

The plea was mentioned before a division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla for urgent hearing. The bench agreed to hear it on Wednesday.

Kangana Ranaut, who has directed and co-produced the film besides playing the lead role of former prime minister late Indira Gandhi, on Monday accused the CBFC of stalling certification to delay the release.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

ZEEL has, on account of Culver Max’s and BEPL’s breaches under the Merger Cooperation agreement, terminated the MCA by issuing a letter dated May 23, 2024. 
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Zee Entertainment Enterprises has sought a termination fee of $90 million (around ₹748.7 crore) from the Sony Group for calling off the $10 billion merger deal in January this year.

It has sought termination fees from two Sony Group entities — Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), now known as Culver Max Entertainment, and Bangla Entertainment (BEPL), according to a regulatory filing from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) on May 24.

ZEEL has, on account of Culver Max’s and BEPL’s breaches under the Merger Cooperation agreement (MCA), terminated the MCA by issuing a letter dated May 23, 2024. “The company has sought a termination fee from Culver Max and BEPL under the provisions of the MCA,” it said.

“Culver Max and BEPL have failed to comply with their obligations under the MCA. Therefore, the company has terminated the MCA and called upon Culver Max and BEPL to pay the termination fee i.e. the aggregate amount equal to $90 million in accordance with the MCA,” it said.

Earlier on January 22, 2024, Sony Group Corporation (SGC) had said that ZEEL did not satisfy the merger conditions and initiated arbitration proceedings before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) claiming $90 million as termination fee.

This was contested by ZEEL before the SIAC, which denied any interim relief to the Sony group against the Indian broadcaster. ZEEL had moved the National Company Law Tribunal seeking implementation of the proposed merger and later withdrew its plea.

“We hereby wish to inform you that the company has, on account of Culver Max’s and BEPL’s breaches under the MCA, terminated the MCA by issuing a letter dated May 23, 2024, and sought a termination fee from Culver Max and BEPL in accordance with the provisions of the MCA,” the filing said. ZEEL and SPNI had entered into an agreement to merge on December 22, 2021.

On August 10, 2023 the Mumbai Bench of NCLT approved the scheme of merger of ZEEL with Sony group entities Culver Max Entertainment and BEPL, which could have created a $10 billion media entity.

However, two years after that Sony Corporation announced the termination of the agreement on January 22, 2024.