Mumbai: Kiran Rao’s critically acclaimed drama Laapataa Ladies has recently come under scrutiny, accused of being heavily inspired by the 2019 Arabic film Burqa City.

Directed by Fabrice Bracq, Burqa City is a 19-minute satirical short set in the Middle East. It tells the story of a newlywed man who mistakenly takes home the wrong woman due to identical burqas, leading to a comedic and thought-provoking exploration of patriarchy, gender-based restrictions, and the erasure of women’s identities.

Fabrice Bracq, the French filmmaker behind Burqa City, has expressed his concerns over the striking similarities between his short film and Rao’s Laapataa Ladies. He claims that many aspects of his work are clearly present in the film. Bracq pointed out the similarities, particularly a scene with a kind husband searching for his wife, which mirrors a moment in Burqa City.

“I was both surprised and shocked when I saw Laapataa Ladies,” Bracq told India Today. “The story had been adapted to Indian culture, but many elements of my short film were clearly there, from the contrasting husbands to the police officer scene, and the moment with the veiled woman.”

He further noted that Laapataa Ladies shares a similar narrative twist at the end and both films carry messages of women’s emancipation and feminism.

In response to the plagiarism accusations, Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami strongly refuted the claims, calling them “baseless.” Goswami provided documents to defend the originality of the story, characters, and dialogues. He explained that the film’s synopsis was registered with the Screenwriters Association in 2014, and the full script was registered in 2018.

Goswami detailed the development of the screenplay and its extensive research on gender disparity and patriarchy, both in rural India and globally. He also mentioned that the concept of mistaken identities due to veils is a classic storytelling device used by legendary authors such as William Shakespeare and Rabindranath Tagore.

“The story, characters, and dialogues are 100% original,” Goswami stated. “These plagiarism allegations are completely untrue and undermine the hard work of the entire team.”

Set in rural India in 2001, Laapataa Ladies follows the story of two brides who are accidentally swapped during a train journey. Produced by Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, and Jyoti Deshpande under Aamir Khan Productions, Kindling Pictures, and Jio Studios, the film was selected as India’s entry for the Oscars, though it did not make the final shortlist.

Despite the ongoing plagiarism debate, the film continues to be celebrated for its exploration of social issues and its nuanced portrayal of gender and identity in rural India.