Director Ananth Mahadevan claims Laapataa Ladies similar to his film Ghunghat Ke Phat Kol; writer Biplab Goswami states the Kiran Rao film is ‘100 per cent original’

National Award-winning filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan claimed in a recent interview that Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies is similar to his 1999 film Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol. Laapataa’s writer Biplab Goswami later reacted to the claim and said that his film is “100 per cent original” and that he “won’t copy somebody else’s story.”

 In Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol, a boy from the city goes to a village to get married. At a railway station he asks his new bride, who is in a ghunghat, to sit on a bench. When he returns, he takes the wrong bride with him. The two women later correct the mix-up, only to realise they have feelings for the other’s partner. The four characters later end their marriages, switch partners and tie the knot again.

In an interview with Mid-Day, Ananth said, “It seems too much of a coincidence. I have seen Laapataa Ladies, and the beginning as well as many incidents are the same. 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.”

Reacting to this, Biplab, on whose short story Two Brides the film is based, said, “I wrote the synopsis a decade ago. My story, script, dialogues, characterisation 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. I was also recently asked if it’s inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali novel, Noukadubi…I won’t copy somebody else’s story as we are taught the basic ethics and moralities of writing.”

Set in 2001, Laapataa Ladies tells the story of of a recently married Deepak Kumar, who goes home with his bride. However, as soon as she pulls the cover off her face, it is revealed that she is not the same girl he had married. Faced with a huge dilemma, Deepak goes to the police station to lodge a complaint about his missing wife.

Presented by Jio Studios, Laapataa Ladies is produced by Aamir Khan and Jyoti Deshpande. The film was released in theatres on March 1. It is now streaming on Netflix.