SUNDER PICTURES CIRCUIT Vs. MOTI MAHAL THEATRES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Second Appeal arise out of O.S. No. 423/1 of 1958 on the file of the Second Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad. The short facts are as follows : The 3rd defendant, R.R. Pictures produced a talkie film in Tamil called " Gule-Bakavali ". On 9th August, 1955, an agreement of lease was entered into between the 3rd defendant and C. T. Arunachalam (4th defendant), proprietor of Rani Pictures now called " Ajanta Pictures". By that agreement, the lessor, who is the owner of the rights in the negative of the Tamil talkie film, " Gul-e-Bakavali ", granted a lease of rights of displaying and exhibiting the said pictures in the erstwhile States of Andhra and Hyderabad, excluding the district of Chittoor for a period of 15 years commencing from 9th August, 1955, for a rent of Rs. 15,001 for the entire period. The lease, inter alia stipulated that (1) the lessee shall be supplied by the lessor with one print of the picture free of costs, (2) the lessee shall be entitled to get from the lessor further copies of picture on payment of actual cost, (3) the lessee should be supplied with extra publicities of the picture, if needed, at the prevailing cost price, (4) on the expiry of the lease period, the lessee shall return the prints and publicities to the lessor and (5) that the lessor shall not exercise any rights of distribution of the leased picture, " Gul-e-Bakavali ". In theatres leased to the lessee during the period of lease, and the lessee shall not similarly display or exhibit the picture directly in any place outside the leased area. The lessor shall not charge the lessee any royalty for the supply of extra films and publicities other than the actual cost.

(2.) Another agreement of lease was executed on the same day between the same parties. All other terms were identical except that by this agreement, the lessee got the right to dub the Tamil talkie picture, " Gul-e-Bakavali ", in Telugu version only, and exhibit and exploit, and distribute the same in the territories mentioned in the other agreement. The period of lease in this case also is fifteen years and the lease amount for the whole period is Rs. 15,001. It may be mentioned that for some reason or other the picture was not dubbed in Telugu. The copies of these two leases were not produced in the Courts below, but they have now been filed and both the parties prayed that they may be marked as additional evidence. As I consider, that they are essential for a determination of the questions involved, they are marked as Exhibits A-7 and A-8 respectively in this appeal.

(3.) By an agreement dated 7th September, 1955, Exhibit A-6 the 4th defendant assigned to the plaintiff (Mod Mahal Pictures) his (4th defendant's) rights for exhibiting, exploiting and distributing the said picture for a period of three years in the said territories for Rs. 40,000 by another agreement Exhibit A-5, dated 16th March, 1956, the 4th defendant sold to the plaintiff all his rights in six prints of the picture for a period of ten years.