A Bengaluru court granted an ex parte interim relief against defamatory and false content about Ranabaali across social media platforms on Friday, right before its release. The reviews and ratings on BookMyShow have since been disabled for the film by Rahul Sankrityan, starring Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna. A disclaimer on the ticketing platform states that the action has been taken pursuant to a court order. (Also Read: Ranabaali movie review: Faction film genre meets colonial trauma in Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika Mandanna film)
Ranabaali reviews disabled on BookMyShow
LiveLaw reported that on Friday, a Bengaluru court granted an ex parte interim relief against defamatory and false content about Ranabaali on social media. The order restrained X Corp, YouTube, Google India, BookMyShow, IMDb, Facebook India, Meta platforms and unidentified John Doe defendants from hosting or circulating such content. The platforms were asked not to spread or host content allegedly defamatory or false about the film.
The makers, production house Mythri Movie Makers, also reportedly approached the court over specific links and comments they deemed defamatory. Their complaint alleged that after the Ranabaali teaser dropped on September 9, negative comments, reaction videos mocking it, and declarations that the film would be a flop before release began appearing online. The production house alleged this was ‘review bombing’ and claimed that anonymous accounts and bot networks were being used to call for a boycott.
The case against Ranabaali over content will be heard again on November 6, but in the meantime, the makers received a John Doe anti-piracy injunction from a Madras court, also ahead of its release.
BookMyShow reviews and ratings disabled
The Ranabaali page on BookMyShow shows that public reviews and ratings have been disabled for the film. “Ratings & Reviews disabled as per court order,” reads the note, where the audience could usually rate and submit their review for the film. The ‘I’m Interested’ button, along with the ‘Book Tickets’ button, are the only ones left active. The film’s synopsis reads: “Set against the devastating backdrop of the Great Madras Famine of 1876, Ranabaali is a massive historical action spectacle that tracks the explosive rise of an indigenous rebel against the global might of the British Empire.”
Interestingly, Nelson Dilipkumar’s Jailer 2, released on October 15, a day before Ranabaali, also has its reviews and ratings disabled on the ticketing platform. Yash’s Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, Nani’s The Paradise, Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, Pawan Kalyan’s Ustaad Bhagat Singh, and Shahid Kapoor’s O’Romeo are also some big-ticket releases that had reviews disabled on the platform following a court order.