'Kesari 2' plagiarism row settled amicably, poet Yahya Bootwala confirms
What's the story
The plagiarism controversy surrounding Akshay Kumar's film, Kesari Chapter 2, has been amicably resolved.
Poet Yahya Bootwala, who had accused the film's makers of using lines from his poem Jallianwala Bagh without permission, announced the resolution on Instagram.
He wrote, "So dosto, the producers and I have managed to amicably solve the issue in the best interest of both parties. Thank you guys for your support in these two days, you guys have been very kind."
Controversy details
Bootwala compared his poem with a scene from 'Kesari 2'
The controversy was sparked when Bootwala posted a video on social media comparing his poem with a Kesari 2 scene.
The clip showed Ananya Panday delivering a dialogue, which Bootwala alleged was shockingly similar to his poem.
He wrote, "Here are the two clips and honestly, this is a clear copy-paste and it's not like they've tried to hide it as well."
He also asked his followers to tag the film's producers and actors to bring attention to the matter.
Accusation
'As writers, the worst thing you can do...'
Bootwala further accused dialogue writer Sumit Saxena of plagiarism.
He said, "As writers, the worst thing you can do to a fellow writer is pick their material up, blatantly use it without giving credit, and this is what I feel dialogue writer @sumit.saxena.35912 has done here."
He also commented on his post, saying, "@dharmamovies @karanjohar next time you can directly get in touch with me, (I'll write original dialogues for you)."
Box office success
'Kesari 2' continues to perform well at the box office
Despite the controversy, Kesari 2, directed by Karan Singh Tyagi, is performing well at the box office, grossing ₹100 crore worldwide.
The film is based on the life of C. Sankaran Nair, a lawyer who took on the British after the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Kumar plays Nair, R Madhavan plays British lawyer R Neville McKinley, and Panday plays a young lawyer Dilreet Gill.