Even before her biopic Haseena Parkar releases this Friday, Shraddha Kapoor has realized the legal implications of playing underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s sister for Bollywood. The actress and filmmakers have been slapped with a criminal notice by M&M Designs – manufacturers of designer costumes under the fashion label AJTM (Ajay Mistry & Thea Minhas). According to Supreme Court advocate Rizwan Siddiquee, who filed the papers in the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate Court this evening, the respondents Swiss Entertainment Pvt. Ltd and Shraddha Kapoor have been accused of “cheating” and “breach of trust” under Sections 405, 406, 415, 417, 418 and 420 of the IPC.

The details of the case are simple enough. The respondent, AJTM, supplied approximately 280 costumes for the cast of Haseena Parkar after entering into an agreement with Swiss Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. which were to be branded in the film and subsequently promoted by its lead actress Shraddha Kapoor in TV shows, media interviews of the biopic, at a fashion event, in a visit to their flagship store, and also on social media. None of which happened. Says Rizwan Siddiquee, “My client designed clothes not just for Shraddha Kapoor in Haseena Parkar, but also for its other cast members including Siddhant Kapoor, Ankur Bhatia, Danish, Sabir, Kalim Khan, Hazel, Samarth and Amir Zada.”

While the design label kept its promise and designed the costumes, the filmmaker and actress allegedly failed to honour their end of the deal and this reportedly amounts to a clear case of “cheating and breach of trust”.  “They failed in their roles, duties, and obligations that they were legally, morally and contractually duty bound by and which they knew would invite huge monetary losses to AJTM,” the advocate added.

When asked if the petitioner Ajay Mistry and Thea Minhas was seeking a court order restraining the screening of Haseena Parkar until the dues of AJTM were settled, Rizwan Siddiquee said, “No, we are not doing that or even asking for money. It’s a criminal case and we leave it to the honourable court to decide the quantum of punishment against the respondents Swiss Entertainment Pvt. Ltd and Shraddha Kapoor.” A legal notice was served on Sameer Shaikh, the film’s executive producer, and Shraddha Kapoor on Saturday. When they failed to respond to it, the advocate filed the papers in the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate Court this evening. Haseena Parkar will release on Friday, September 22, along with Sanjay Dutt's comeback film Bhoomi. It is a biopic on Haseena Parkar, the late sister of Dawood Ibrahim, with Shraddha Kapoor playing the title role and is directed by Apoorva Lakhia.