Laapataa Ladies recently came under fire after a video of an Arabic short film, titled Burqa City, went viral on social media. The clip highlighted striking similarities between Kiran Rao’s directorial and Burqa City, sparking speculation of plagiarism.
Now, Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami has responded to the controversy, asserting that his story is “100% original.” In a statement shared on Instagram, Biplab clarified that he had registered the synopsis of Laapataa Ladies with the Screenwriters Association back in 2014, before the Arabic film was even made.
He wrote, “The screenplay for Laapataa Ladies was developed extensively over many years. I first registered the film’s detailed synopsis, outlining the entire story with the working title ‘Two Brides‘, with the Screenwriters Association on July 3, 2014.”
“Even within this registered synopsis, there is a scene that clearly describes the groom bringing home the wrong bride and being shocked and stricken upon realising his mistake because of the veil, along with the rest of his family. This is where the story takes off,” he added.
Biplab Goswami further mentioned that he had registered the feature-length script with the Screenwriters Association in 2018 and that it went on to win the runner-up award at the Cinestaan Storytellers Competition.
Addressing the use of veils and disguises in Laapataa Ladies, Biplab said, “The concept of veils and disguises resulting in mistaken identities is a classical form of storytelling used for centuries by writers such as William Shakespeare, Alexandre Dumas and Rabindranath Tagore.”
The writer claimed that the story, dialogues, characters, and scenes in Laapataa Ladies stem from years of research and “honest reflection,” along with a deep understanding of the nuances of “gender discrimination, inequality, rural power dynamics and male chauvinism.”
He signed off with the words, “Our story, characters, and dialogues are 100% original. Any allegations of plagiarism are completely untrue. These allegations not just undermine my efforts as a writer, but also the tireless efforts of the entire filmmaking team.”
Backing Biplab Goswami’s claim, director Kiran Rao reshared his statement on her Instagram stories.
https://www.instagram.com/stories/raodyness/
Laapataa Ladies features Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel and Sparsh Shrivastava in lead roles. The film is bankrolled by Aamir Khan and under the banner of Aamir Khan Productions.
