'Surprised by how it matches my film...', Burqa City director REACTS to 'Laapataa Ladies' controversy

French filmmaker Fabrice Bracq has raised concerns about the similarities between his 2019 Arabic short film Burqa City and Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies. Bracq believes that Rao’s film shares not just a thematic resemblance but also multiple specific elements with his work. The controversy intensified after a viral video surfaced online, juxtaposing scenes from both films and prompting discussions about potential plagiarism.

Speaking to India Today, Bracq expressed his initial surprise at how closely Laapataa Ladies resembled his short film even before watching it. Upon viewing it, he was both surprised and shocked to find that, despite being adapted to Indian culture, many aspects of Burqa City were clearly reflected in Laapataa Ladies. He pointed out several key similarities, including the presence of a kind, naive husband searching for his lost wife, contrasted with another husband who is abusive. He also highlighted a particular scene involving a corrupt and intimidating police officer flanked by two assistants, as well as the moment where a character shows a photo of a veiled woman.

Bracq further noted a scene where the kind husband searches for his wife in various shops, showing a photo of his veiled spouse to shopkeepers. In one instance, the shopkeeper’s wife emerges wearing a burqa, which he felt was almost a direct nod to Burqa City. He also mentioned the plot twist, where it is revealed that the missing woman deliberately escaped from an abusive marriage—a key element in his short film. More broadly, he observed that both films conveyed a message about women’s emancipation and feminism.

In response to the allegations, Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami denied any plagiarism and provided supporting documents to establish the originality of the story, characters, and dialogues. He stated that the film’s detailed synopsis had been registered with the Screenwriters Association (SWA) in 2014, followed by the feature-length script, titled Two Brides, in 2018.

Goswami explained that the screenplay had been developed over several years, with the detailed synopsis registered under the title Two Brides on July 3, 2014. He specified that even this early version included the scene where a groom mistakenly brings home the wrong bride due to her veil, as well as a scene where he goes to the police station, presenting a photo of his veiled bride, which leads to a comedic moment.

He added that on June 30, 2018, he registered the full script of Two Brides with the SWA, which later won the runner-up award at the Cinestaan Storytellers Competition that same year. He pointed out that this screenplay also contained the scene of a police officer reacting with amusement to a veiled bride’s photograph.

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Goswami defended the use of veils and mistaken identity as a classical storytelling trope, referencing writers such as William Shakespeare, Alexandre Dumas, and Rabindranath Tagore, who have used similar narrative techniques. He emphasized that Laapataa Ladies presented a unique and original take on the mistaken identity theme, incorporating distinctive characters, a fresh setting, and a socially impactful narrative. According to him, the story, dialogues, and characters were the result of extensive research on gender discrimination, rural power dynamics, and male chauvinism in both Indian and global contexts.

He firmly rejected any allegations of plagiarism, stating that they undermined not just his work as a writer but also the collective effort of the entire filmmaking team. To further support his claims, he shared the official registration certificate from the Screenwriters’ Association.

Laapataa Ladies was released in theaters on March 1, 2024, featuring Sparsh Shrivastava, Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, and Ravi Kishan in lead roles.