Laapataa Ladies Writer Biplab Goswami REACTS To Film Being Copied From Burqa City

Since the last couple of days, a video featuring similar scenes between Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies and Arabic short film Burqa City have been going viral across social media. This viral comparison has let to several netizens claiming the much-loved Hindi film – released in 2023, has been copied from the 2019 short film. Now, the writer of Laapataa Ladies – Biplab Goswami, has released a strong statement slamming the copying accusation as well as documents concerning the registration of his script. Scroll below to know all he said.

Biplab Goswami On Laapataa Ladies Being Copied From Burqa City

In a post shared on his Instagram handle, the film’s write Biplab Goswami wrote, “The screenplay for Laapataa Ladies was developed extensively over many years. 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 continued, “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.”

Biplab Goswami: Any allegations of plagiarism are completely untrue

Goswami’s statement further read, “The concept of veils and disguises resulting in mistaken identities is a classical form of storytelling used for centuries by writers such as William Shakespeare, Alexandre Dumas and Rabindranath Tagore, among many others. Laapataa Ladies uses this mistaken identity form with entirely original and unique characters, setting, narrative journey, and social impact. The story, the dialogues, the characters, and the scenes – all stem from years of research and honest reflection.”

Conveying a strong point, the statement concluded with his saying, “I was deeply invested in understanding the nuances of gender discrimination and inequality, rural power dynamics, and male chauvinism across both Indian and global contexts. 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. Thank You.”

About LL

Released in 2023, Laapataa Ladies was India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards. Released internationally as Lost Ladies, it was directed by Kiran Rao. The film’s original story was penned by Biplab Goswami with Sneha Desai penning the screenplay and dialogues. The film starrer Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan in pivotal roles. It was produced by Rao, Aamir Khan, and Jyoti Deshpande.

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Also Read: Did Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies Copy Burqa City? Viral Clip Raises Questions

Desk Head at Bollywood Bubble