A still from Phantom.
New Delhi:
The makers of Phantom have clarified that the espionage drama "bears no resemblance to any actual organisation anywhere in the world", after they received a legal threat by a medical charity MSF over wrongly using its name in the movie.
In a statement issued by the film's banners on September 2, the producers said: "Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd and UTV Software Communications Ltd clarify that the non-governmental organisation which is depicted under the name 'Medicine International' in the film Phantom is purely fictitious and bears no resemblance to, and is not related to, any actual organisation anywhere in the world."
The statement comes after an aid charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), decided to take legal action against the film's producers, claiming that misrepresentation of the medical group can "harm its work in places where its access depends on a reputation for neutrality" and puts the lives of their aid workers deployed in conflict zones at risk.
However, the producers have maintained that "no activities, working, portrayal or attributes of the said fictitious organisation should be imputed to any real organisation anywhere in the world".
"It is further clarified that any press reports, reviews, materials, promotional interviews to the contrary are inaccurate and incorrect," the statement read further.
The issue over Phantom, directed by Kabir Khan, escalated last week.
Earlier, Martin Sloot, the general director of MSF India, said that the blurring of the lines between fact and fiction could affect MSF's work and that the MSF is mulling over taking legal action to correct the misrepresentation. (Also Read: Phantom Being Taken to Court by Medical Charity Over Gun-Toting Katrina )
Phantom, which features Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, is set in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and deals with global terrorism. The film is based on Hussain Zaidi's novel Mumbai Avengers.
In a statement issued by the film's banners on September 2, the producers said: "Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd and UTV Software Communications Ltd clarify that the non-governmental organisation which is depicted under the name 'Medicine International' in the film Phantom is purely fictitious and bears no resemblance to, and is not related to, any actual organisation anywhere in the world."
The statement comes after an aid charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), decided to take legal action against the film's producers, claiming that misrepresentation of the medical group can "harm its work in places where its access depends on a reputation for neutrality" and puts the lives of their aid workers deployed in conflict zones at risk.
However, the producers have maintained that "no activities, working, portrayal or attributes of the said fictitious organisation should be imputed to any real organisation anywhere in the world".
"It is further clarified that any press reports, reviews, materials, promotional interviews to the contrary are inaccurate and incorrect," the statement read further.
The issue over Phantom, directed by Kabir Khan, escalated last week.
Earlier, Martin Sloot, the general director of MSF India, said that the blurring of the lines between fact and fiction could affect MSF's work and that the MSF is mulling over taking legal action to correct the misrepresentation. (Also Read: Phantom Being Taken to Court by Medical Charity Over Gun-Toting Katrina )
Phantom, which features Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, is set in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and deals with global terrorism. The film is based on Hussain Zaidi's novel Mumbai Avengers.
