The notion of bringing the castle of Hogwarts alive at a Durga Puja event appears fantastic enough. However, the attempt by a Kolkata puja organising committee to do so in 2007 landed the organisers in a legal tangle with J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. The committee of the FD Block Puja in Salt Lake, Kolkata, decided to adopt the theme Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the Durga Puja pandal. The structure was nearing its end when the committee faced a copyright issue.
The Hogwarts pandal has been designed after the fictional school where Harry Potter and his fellow students study magic. It comprises a huge castle-like construction with blue tips. Additionally, there were plans to place life-size images of Harry Potter and his friends in the pandal.
The festivities incorporated the fantasy theme and also retained some religious aspects. An idol of Goddess Durga in a posture sitting on a lion and slaying a demon was placed in the pandal.
Apart from that, they were even making a model of a steam engine similar to the Hogwarts Express. It had been reported that the train would be a blazing red and would enhance the beauty of the castle. The Hogwarts pandal was going to cost about Rs 12 lakh, roughly equivalent to $30,000. Unfortunately, the plans didn’t go as expected.
As per reports, there were accusations of copyright violation from J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros., who held the copyright for the Harry Potter franchise in India. They petitioned the court of law and reportedly wanted a compensation amount of Rs 20 lakhs, approximately $50,000, according to the currency conversion rate. This lawsuit was reported on October 8, 2007.
Santanu Biswas, the secretary of the FD Block Puja Committee, informed that the organisers were unaware that they needed the author’s permission for this arrangement. The committee argued that the purpose of the Hogwarts pandal was just to lure people and not make a profit out of it.
Several years later, the Hogwarts pandal controversy was brought back to life on social media. An X user named Oksana expressed surprise at learning about the lawsuit and questioned whether J.K. Rowling had lost the case.
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