By Subhash K Jha

The Arth producer Kuljit Pal is up in arms against Mahesh Bhatt for giving his consent to a Pakistani producer for the remake rights of the classic film.

In a public notice Pal has accused Bhatt of wrong-doing.

Says Pal, `It appears that Mahesh Bhatt has committed an offence, misleading Pakistani producers by assigning them the rights of Arth that legally belong solely to us. You all are advised not to deal with Sri Mahesh Bhatt for Arth. `

To this Mahesh Bhatt replies, `The Public Notice issued by the Producer is apparently speculative. The words "it appears that Mahesh Bhatt sold the rights" says it all that the Producer is not sure about the facts and has not bothered to know the same before issuing the notice. `


Bhatt Saab further explains, ` I was approached by Pakistani superstar Shaan seeking my no-objection for Arth being remade in Urdu language based on the script of the original film and I have given my no-objection since I believe that this will be one of the first initiatives to strengthen the Indo-Pak relations.

There is no commercial angle in this hence the word "sold" is completely misplaced. At this stage, I don't wish to comment on ownership of rights in the screenplay since the same is unwarranted in the given facts and circumstances. `

The next move in this battle of wits would be interesting.