Kiran Rao's 'Laapataa Ladies' faces plagiarism accusations
Kiran Rao's latest film, Laapataa Ladies, is under scrutiny for alleged plagiarism. Filmmaker and actor Ananth Mahadevan has accused the film of bearing striking resemblances to his 1999 movie, Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol. "I have seen Laapataa Ladies, and the beginning as well as many incidents are the same," Mahadevan stated in a recent interview. Notably, Mahadevan has co-starred with LL producer Aamir Khan in several titles, including Mann, Akele Hum Akele Tum, Ishq.
'Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol' also involves bride-swapping
Laapataa Ladies, which has been well-received on OTT, tells the story of two brides who are mistakenly swapped in a train due to their veils. Mahadevan's debut feature also involves a similar mix-up at a railway station involving two brides in veils. "The mix-up happens at the railway station when he asks his new bride, who is in a ghunghat, to wait on a bench. When he returns, he joins the wrong bride," Mahadevan told Mid-Day.
This funny scene from 'LL' was there in 'GKPK,' too
Mahadevan also pointed out another similarity between his film and Laapataa Ladies. He highlighted a scene where a police officer (Ravi Kishan) looks at a wedding photograph to look for the missing bride but can't discern much due to her veil. "The scene where the cop looks at the woman's photograph and can't make out much because she is in a ghunghat, is there in my film. Except in my film, it's not a cop but another character," he said.
Story, however, is different of the two films
Despite the initial similarities, the narratives of both films diverge after the mix-up. Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol explores the story of two couples falling in love with their swapped partners. On the other hand, Laapataa Ladies focuses on the journey of two young women discovering their true calling in life after being mistakenly swapped due to their concealed faces.
Here's what 'LL' scribe had to say
Although Mahadevan revealed not approaching Rao or Khan about the similarities "because they will only point out the differences," LL writer Biplab Goswami cleared the air. Speaking to Mid-Day, the scribe said, "I wrote the synopsis a decade ago. My story, script, dialogues, characterization, and scenes are all 100 per cent original. I have not been inspired by any story, movie or novel. I have not watched Ananth Mahadevan ji's movie."
