BOY wizard Harry Potter has finally been defeated - by an Indian sound-alike named Hari Puttar. A film titled Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Terrors has hit cinemas after an Indian court rejected a legal attempt by Warner Brothers to ban it.

By Fiona Gray THE release of Hari Puttar, a children's Bollywood film, has been postponed after Warner Bros complained its name was too similar to Harry Potter.

While Bollywood films often borrow liberally from Western movies, producers of Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors say their movie, parts of which were filmed in the Yorkshire Dales, bears no resemblance to any film in the Harry Potter series, based on books by British author J K Rowling."There is absolutely nothing to link Hari Puttar with Harry Potter," said Munish Purii, chief executive officer of Mumbai-based producer Mirchi Movies.Hari is a common name in India and "puttar" is Punabji for son, he said.The film is a story of an Indian boy left home alone, who fights off burglars when his parents go away on holiday a plot lifted from Home Alone, starring Macaulay Culkin.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MUMBAI, India - Let's see Hari Puttar get out of this one. Bollywood producers set to release a film called "Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors" are working to fend off a lawsuit filed by Warner Bros.

By Arifa Akbar The film studio Warner Bros has taken umbrage at the title of a Hindi film called Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Terrors for its resemblance to the Harry Potter franchise. A Mumbai-based production company, Mirchi Movies, is intent on releasing its "Hari Puttar" title on 12 September.