Laapataa Ladies plagiarism row: Writer releases statement as Burqa City director points out similarities

Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies has been caught in a plagiarism row after it came under scrutiny due to allegations of plagiarism, with numerous social media users pointing out its similarities to the 2019 Arabic film Burqa City. The speculation began after a video featuring a scene from Burqa City went viral online.  The clip raised questions about the originality of Rao's film, which has also been selected as India's official entry for the Oscars this year. Laapataa Ladies

Was Laapataa Ladies copied or plagiarised from Burqa City?

As the post gained traction, many users highlighted what appeared to be a similar storyline, where a newlywed man searches for his wife after she is mistakenly swapped with another woman in a burqa. Fabrice Bracq who directed the 2019 Arabic films has weighed in on the plagiarism controversy.

He shared, “First of all, even before watching the film, I was surprised by how closely the pitch matched that of my short film. Then I watched the film, and I was both surprised and shocked to see that, although the story had been adapted to Indian culture, many aspects of my short were clearly present. Notably – and this is by no means an exhaustive list – the kind, loving, naive husband who loses his wife, contrasted with the other husband who is violent and despicable. The scene with the police officer is also striking: a corrupt, violent, and intimidating policeman surrounded by two sidekicks. Of course, there’s the moment with the photo of the veiled woman."

The clip which went viral raised questions about the originality of Rao's film and as post gained traction, many users highlighted what appeared to be a similar storyline, where a newlywed man searches for his wife after she is mistakenly swapped with another woman in a burqa.

Bracq added, “The scene where the kind husband searches for his wife in various shops is particularly revealing – he shows the shopkeepers a photo of his veiled wife, just like in the short film, and then the shopkeeper’s wife comes out wearing a burqa, almost like a nod to Burqa City. There’s also the 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."

Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami has responded to the controversy, and has claimed that his story “100% original.” In a statement shared on Instagram, Biplab shared that he had registered the synopsis of Laapataa Ladies with the Screenwriters Association back in 2014 and had registered the feature-length script with the Screenwriters Association in 2018.

He wrote, “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.”

He added, “This is where the story takes off. I had also clearly written about the scene of the worried groom going to the police station and showing the only photograph he had of his missing bride to the police officer, but the bride’s face was covered with a veil, resulting in a comedic moment.”

Goswami concluded, “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.”