Burqa City director ‘shocked and saddened’ at similarities between his film and Laapataa Ladies, wants to talk to makers | Bollywood-OxBig News Network

Burqa City director on Laapataa Ladies plagiarism row

Fabrice told the publication that he had not watched Laapataa Ladies till the similarities were recently brought to his notice. When asked about the similarities he noticed in both films, the French director said he first noticed how closely the film’s pitch matched his short film. He also spoke about the similarities in the ‘kind, loving, naive husband’, the ‘violent and despicable’ husband, ‘corrupt, violent’ police officer and specifically the photo of the veiled woman.

The director also said, “There’s also similarity in the plot twist at the end, where we learn that the woman deliberately chose to run away from her abusive husband – a key narrative element in Burqa City.” Fabrice also revealed that the short film was written in 2017 and shot in 2018 before being presented in festivals in 2019. It was also shown at two festivals in Kolkata and Auroville in 2020.

When asked how he felt after watching the film, the director said, “When I found out, I was both shocked and saddened, especially since I understood that the film had been a huge success in India and was even shortlisted for the Oscars. As for me, I had hopes – and was in discussions – to adapt Burqa City into a feature film. But is that even possible now?” He also expressed interest in talking to the producers of Laapataa Ladies to sort it out.

Laapataa Ladies writer denies plagiarism claims

Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami issued a statement on Saturday to deny all plagiarism charges. He claimed to have registered Laapataa Ladies with the Screenwriters Association in 2014 and the feature-length script with SWA in 2018 with the title Two Brides. “These allegations not just undermine my efforts as a writer, but also the tireless efforts of the entire filmmaking team,” he wrote.

Directed by Kiran, Laapataa Ladies is produced by Aamir Khan and stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan.