Did Laapataa Ladies Copy Burka City? Writer Biplab Goswami Reacts

Laapataa Ladies: Kiran Rao’s film ‘Laapataa Ladies’ was released in theaters in March 2024 last year. The film may not have done wonders in theaters, but it garnered a lot of appreciation from the audience on the OTT platform. These days, ‘Laaptaa Ladies’ is embroiled in controversy over allegations of story theft. It is being claimed that the story of the film has been stolen from the 2019 Arabic short film ‘Burka City.’ Now, ‘Laaptaa Ladies’ writer Biplab Goswami has broken his silence on these allegations.

Writer Biplab Goswami clarified

Writer Biplab Goswami of the film ‘Laapataa Ladies’ shared a long post on his Instagram on Saturday. Rejecting the allegations of plagiarism on the film, he wrote, ‘Our story, characters, and dialogues are 100 percent original. None of the allegations of plagiarism against the film are true. These allegations not only undermine my efforts as a writer but also undermine the efforts of the entire filmmaking team.

The full synopsis of the film was registered

Biplab Goswami further wrote, ‘I had outlined the entire story with the title ‘Two Brides’ and registered the full synopsis of the film with the Screen Writers Association on July 3, 2024, last year. There is also a scene in this registered synopsis, which clearly describes the groom bringing the wrong bride home and being shocked and surprised along with other family members when he realizes his mistake due to the veil. This is where the story of the film begins.

Also Read: Laapataa Ladies Controversy, Inspired or Copied?

He further wrote, ‘I had written on the scene of the film in which the distraught groom goes to the police station and gives the police the only photo to find his lost wife. In that photo, the bride’s face is covered with a veil. This resulted in a humorous moment. Biplab Goswami said that this story also won the runner-up award in the Cinestaan Storytellers Competition in the year 2018.

What was the allegation against Laapataa Ladies?

Let us tell you that Kiran Rao’s directorial film ‘Laapataa Ladies’ has been accused of copying the story of a 2019 Arabic short film ‘Burka City.’ In this 19-minute short film, it is shown that an Arabic man’s new wife is replaced by another woman. Both women are wearing a burqa. This was a satirical comedy film, based on which it has been alleged that the story of ‘Laapataa Ladies’ is very similar to it.