Samantha's Yashoda clears legal hurdles

Samantha Ruth Prabhu's latest release Yashoda has landed in a legal soup after Hyderabad-based EVA IVF filed a defamation suit at the Hyderabad Civil Court for projecting their fertility center in a negative light. Mohan Rao, the MD of EVA IVF claimed that certain portions of the film have tarnished their reputation and affected their fame in society.

Following the complaint, the court has directed the makers to hold back the film's OTT release until December 30. However, it appears that the makers of Yashoda have arrived at a truce with the management of EVA IVF and have agreed to blur all the visuals of the center in the film within a week's time.

Speaking at a press conference, Sivalenka Krishna Prasad, the producer of Yashoda said, "We have decided to blur the logos of EVA in over 80 places in the film. We had no idea that an IVF center with the name EVA is operational and we would like to reiterate that it was just a coincidence and the film is a fictional work. We neither have the intention to demean an individual nor a hospital in that regard. As the issue was brought to our notice, we are blurring all the visuals and muting the related dialogues in Yashoda. Considering the technical issues, the court and the EVA IVF management have agreed to give us a week's time to complete the process. The OTT version of the film will not have any visuals or audio pertaining to EVA IVF. I take this opportunity to thank the EVA group for their cooperation."

Mohan Rao, the MD of EVA IVF said, "We served notices to protect our center's reputation in society and would want other filmmakers to know about our work in the city. We are pleased with the resolution provided by the makers and we are also happy with the revised cut. We would like to thank the makers of Yashoda for rectifying the issue peacefully."

Released on November 11, Yashoda also features Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Unni Mukundan as the MD and doctor of a surrogacy facility center. Directed by Hari-Harish, the film is running to packed houses in its third week in the Telugu States.