Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami calls allegations of plagiarism against the film ‘untrue’

Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami took to social media on Saturday to clear the air around plagiarism accusations against the film. He said that all the allegations are 'untrue' and his film's story is completely original. The Kiran Rao directorial recently came under the scanner for featuring scenes similar to those in the 2019 Arabic short film Burqa City. Kiran shared Biplab’s statement on her Instagram Stories.

Biplab said in the statement that the story for the film was developed over several years and he registered the film with the Screenwriters Association on July 3, 2014 under the title, ‘Two Brides’. He spoke about some scenes from the film which are said to be copied from the Arabic film and said, “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. This is where the story takes off.”

Talking about the use of veils in the film, Biplab reasoned, “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.”

He ended the statement by saying the film’s ‘story, dialogues and character 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.”

The Arabic film, directed by Fabrice Bracq, tells the story of a young married couple who get into an argument and later the man realizes that he has come home with the wrong burqa-clad woman and not his wife. Scenes from the film were placed in comparison with Laapataa Ladies recently by some users online, alleging that the Hindi film was copied.

Laapataa Ladies was released in theatres on March 1 and was sent as India’s official entry to the Oscars 2025 but was not selected as a nominee.