Kangana's Simran- Writer claims actress snatched his hard work
Apurva Asrani, the writer of Kangana Ranaut's next 'Simran', slammed her for claiming that she wrote the film. In a Facebook post, he said he doesn't understand why Kangana would snatch a writer's hard work. He criticized the director Hansal Mehta, with whom he collaborated for Aligarh and Citylights. Let's have a look at other Bollywood writers who were snatched of their due credit.
Kangana's name appears before Apurva's in the writing credits
Apurva wasn't initially informed about Kangana's 'Additional Story & Dialogue Writer' credit. After Simran's first cut, Hansal informed Apurva that Kangana demanded a co-writer credit; he was "shocked and betrayed". Hansal and co-producer Shailesh tried to arm-twist Apurva for two months into giving Kangana the credit. He refused to give her a co-writer credit but finally gave into an additional writing credit.
Twist in the tale: Sameer Gautam calls Asrani "regular offender"
Writer of Hansal's 'Shahid', Sameer Gautam was allegedly forced to share the film's screenplay credit with Apurva and Hansal. Also, Apurva hijacked the writing credit. Defending Mehta in the 'Simran' case, Gautam added, "I know I am not the only one Asrani has stepped over."
I wish Kangana had been more graceful, says Asrani
Asrani, however, claimed he signed a contract with Hansal Mehta's Karma Features, developed an original story, and wrote a one-line screenplay. He wished Kangana had been more graceful about the issue and acknowledged what he brought to the film. He concluded, "I also wish that my dear friend Hansal shows some spine and either refutes or endorses my story."
Who gets the credit?
Actors and directors end up taking most of the credit for a film's success; filmmakers often forget that "Script is King". The value and importance of writers get ignored without whom memorable films would not even exist. The Film Writers Association, a mid-way point between writers and filmmakers, receives at least half-a-dozen new complaints about stolen credits or unpaid dues from writers.
Victories in copyright violation cases
2010: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Guzaarish' writer Tabish Romani claimed he deserves story credit and was paid Rs. 3 lakh. 2012: 'Jannat 2' writer Kapil Chopra won against Vishesh Films, which denied him screenplay credit. 2015: Jyoti Kapoor fought with Kunal Kohli for stealing her 'RSVP' for 'Phir Se'; Supreme Court ordered Kunal to pay Rs. 25 lakh to Jyoti and give her story credit.
Director Abhishek Kapoor
'Rock On!' director Abhishek Kapoor claimed he was the writer and producer of the film's sequel. However, 'Rock On 2' was made by another director. Kapoor claimed he was not credited for his contributions to the sequel.
Filmmakers accused of stealing other writers' works
2014: Abhigyan Jha claimed director Vikas Bahl copied some scenes of his 'Phir Zindagi' for the movie 'Queen'. 2015: Mahim Joshi claimed he wrote the story of Salman Khan's blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijaan and registered it with Film Writers Association. 2016: Ashutosh Gowariker's Mohenjo Daro was in legal trouble. Writer-director Akashaditya Lama claimed he wrote the screenplay and Gowariker stole the script.
