PC Solanki, advocate who inspired Manoj Bajpayee’s ‘Bandaa’, drags producers to court for copyright violation

‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’, Manoj Bajpayee’s latest courtroom drama has been getting rave reviews, but Poonam Chand Solanki, the lawyer, who inspired the story is less than impressed.

The advocate who is the inspiration behind Bajpai’s fierce, outspoken, and righteous ‘Bandaa’ in the ZEE5 original film, recently filed a lawsuit against the makers of the movie, claiming that his intellectual property rights have been violated by the makers.

In an interview with IANS, Solanki claimed that the producers did not get in touch with him and sold the rights to the film without notifying him. “I have taken the legal recourse in this matter. How can it be claimed that the movie is inspired by real-life events involving me when no NOC was collected from me, nor the script was approved by me? Those who signed an agreement with me sold the rights without informing me.”


'Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai' released on ZEE5 on May 23.

Who Is PC Solanki?
Solanki rose to prominence for his five-year legal battle against self-proclaimed god-man Asaram Bapu who was accused of raping a minor (2013-18) and finally managed to get him convicted.

Hailing from a lower middle-class family (his father was a retired railway mechanic), Solanki joined the bar in 1996. He came into prominence in 2002 when he filed a PIL in the Rajasthan High Court against the immersion of Ganesh idols made from the Plaster of Paris in Gulab Sagar as it led to the death of the aquatic life. However, he shot to fame due to his long-drawn-out (and eventually victorious) legal tussle with godman Asaram Bapu.

During the five-year trial, other rape charges against the godman were brought to the forefront. Solanki had to face some of the bigwigs of the legal world such as Ram Jethmalani, Salmaan Khursheed etc but didn’t waver. Finally, in April 2018, the Jodhpur Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Court convicted Asaram of rape and he was met with a life-sentence in prison.