Chandigarh: The upcoming Punjabi film ‘Pitt Siyapa’, starring actress Sonam Bajwa, has run into legal trouble just days before its scheduled premiere. The Chandigarh District Court has issued an interim stay on the film’s release, which was originally set for May 1, 2026, following a copyright infringement lawsuit. The legal challenge was initiated by writer Rajan Nandan, who claims that the movie’s plot is a direct unauthorized adaptation of a script he registered back in 2021.
According to the petitioner, the alleged plagiarism came to light following the release of the film’s promotional trailer on March 27, 2026. Nandan asserted that the similarities were too significant to be coincidental and subsequently served a legal notice to the production house on April 1. After receiving no satisfactory response, he approached the court to protect his intellectual property. The court has now scheduled the next hearing for April 28, 2026, where the producers are expected to present their defense before a final decision is made regarding the May release date.
This is not the first controversy to hit the production of ‘Pitt Siyapa’. Earlier, the film faced severe backlash from the Muslim community regarding a shooting schedule at the historic Sirhind Mosque. Shahi Imam Mohammad Usman Ludhianvi had lodged a formal complaint with the Fatehgarh Sahib SSP, alleging that the crew filmed inside the mosque at night and organized catering services on the premises, violating religious decorum and ignoring explicit prohibitory signs. Although the film’s team later traveled to Ludhiana to issue a formal apology to the Shahi Imam and the community, this new copyright battle poses a more significant threat to the film’s commercial future.
