{"id":275470,"date":"2025-04-06T13:30:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T13:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/06\/burqa-city-maker-on-similarities-with-aamir-khan-kiran-raos-laapataa-ladies-i-was-both-shocked-and-saddened\/"},"modified":"2025-04-06T13:30:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T13:30:06","slug":"burqa-city-maker-on-similarities-with-aamir-khan-kiran-raos-laapataa-ladies-i-was-both-shocked-and-saddened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/06\/burqa-city-maker-on-similarities-with-aamir-khan-kiran-raos-laapataa-ladies-i-was-both-shocked-and-saddened\/","title":{"rendered":"Burqa City maker on similarities with Aamir Khan-Kiran Rao\u2019s Laapataa Ladies: \u2018I was both shocked and saddened\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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India\u2019s official entry to the Oscars, Laapataa Ladies<\/strong><\/a> has run into a plagiarism controversy\u2026 again. Although the makers had previously downplayed similarities with Indian filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan\u2019s Gunghat ke Pat Khol, they are now facing similar accusations regarding an Arabic short film titled Burqa City (2019), directed by Fabrice Bracq. However, Biplab Goswami, who wrote the Kiran Rao directorial with Sneha Desai, has categorically rejected the claims, and said, \u201cThe screenplay for Laapataa Ladies was developed extensively over many years. I first registered the film\u2019s detailed synopsis, outlining the entire story with the working title \u2018Two Brides\u2019, with the Screenwriters Association on July 3, 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:<\/strong> Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami responds to plagiarism allegations: \u2018Completely untrue\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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Nevertheless, the IFP reached out to French director Fabrice Bracq to discuss the controvery, and the filmmaker revealed that he didn\u2019t know of the existence of Laapataa Ladies till it was brought to his notice by the former. \u201cFirst of all, even before watching the film, I was surprised by how closely the pitch matched that of my short film. Then I watched the film, and I was both surprised and shocked to see that, although the story had been adapted to Indian culture, many aspects of my short were clearly present,\u201d said Fabrice.<\/p>\n

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Listing out the similarities between Burqa City and Laapataa Ladies, Fabrice said that characters of both the husbands, and scenes with the police officer and his sidekicks were common to both the movies. \u201cOf course, there is the moment with the photo of the veiled woman where the kind husband searches for his wife in various shops. He shows the shopkeepers a photo of his veiled wife, just like in the short film, and then the shopkeeper\u2019s wife comes out wearing a burqa\u2026. almost like a nod to Burqa City.\u201d<\/p>\n

The filmmaker also shared that the woman leaving her abusive husband was also a salient feature of Burqa City. \u201cThe film carries a similar message about women\u2019s emancipation and feminism,\u201d said Fabrice, who revealed that he hadn\u2019t seen Rabindranath Tagore\u2019s Noukadubi, Rituparno Ghosh\u2019s feature film adaptation of the same name, and\u00a0Ghunghat ke Pat Khol, which have been speculated as source materials for Laapataa Ladies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found out, I was both shocked and saddened, especially since I understood that the film has been a huge success in India, and was even shortlisted for the Oscars. As for me, I had hopes, and was in discussions to adapt Burqa City into a feature film. But is that even possible now?\u201d signed off Fabrice, adding that he would have a discussion with the team of Laapataa Ladies as the next step.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: <\/strong>Kiran Rao\u2019s Laapataa Ladies accused of plagiarising Arabic film Burqa City, netizens say, \u2018We send copied film to Oscars and end up with egg on face\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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Backed by Aamir Khan<\/strong><\/a>, Kiran Rao, and Jyoti Deshpande, Laapataa Ladies was headlined by Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Srivastava, Pratibha Ranta, Chhaya Kadam, and Ravi Kishan.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n