Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies’ faces plagiarism allegations over similarities with ‘Burqa City’

Director Kiran Rao’s critically acclaimed film Laapataa Ladies has come under scrutiny after social media activists identified certain compelling similarities with the 2019 Arabic short movie Burqa City. The controversy surfaced when a viral clip juxtaposed a scene from Burqa City with Laapataa Ladies, fueling renewed outrage against plagiarism vs. inspiration in the cinematic world.

Internet users have accused Laapataa Ladies of being "heavily inspired" by Burqa City, a Middle Eastern short film that tells the story of a newlywed man whose wife, wearing a burqa, is swapped with another woman. In a similar narrative, Laapataa Ladies revolves around the swapping of two brides sporting ghoonghat on a train. A particular scene, where the hero shows a photograph of his veiled wife at a police station, only to be ridiculed, is almost the same in both films, thus inciting accusations of intellectual piracy.

The web video has polarized in reception, with some viewing the film as being critical of borrowing key elements from Burqa City, while others view Laapataa Ladies as borrowing from the broad themes of misidentification and cultural expectations. One social media commentator has argued, "It's interesting that Laapataa Ladies has been compared to Burqa City considering the clear similarities in theme and plot structure."

This is not the first time the film has been accused of plagiarism. In July 2024, a seasoned actor Ananth Mahadevan accused Laapataa Ladies of resembling his film Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol released in 1999.

Directed by Kiran Rao and co-produced by Aamir Khan, Laapataa Ladies was hailed as a milestone for the Bollywood industry, with universal acclaim and eventually being chosen as India's official entry at the 97th Academy Awards. The film, featuring new faces Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, and Sparsh Shrivastava, received many awards, including a top prize at IIFA 2025.

Although Kiran Rao and the production team have not issued an official statement regarding the controversy, the controversy itself points to significant issues regarding originality in storytelling development and the thin line between inspiration and duplication.