‘Laapataa Ladies’ not inspired by 'Burqa City', says writer Biplab Goswami

Kiran Rao’s critically acclaimed drama 'Laapataa Ladies' was recently accused of being heavily inspired by the 2019 Arabic film 'Burqa City'. Responding to the plagiarism allegations, writer Biplab Goswami took to Instagram to dismiss the claims as 'baseless'.
In his post, Goswami clarified that the screenplay of 'Laapataa Ladies' was developed over several years. He stated that a detailed synopsis of the film, under the working title 'Two Brides', was first registered with the Screenwriters Association on July 3, 2014.

‘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,’ he wrote.

Goswami also mentioned a specific moment in the story: ‘I had also clearly written about the scene of the worried groom going to the police station and showing the only photograph he had of his missing bride to the police officer, but the bride's face was covered with a veil, resulting in a comedic moment.’

He further highlighted the extensive research he undertook on issues like gender disparity and patriarchy, both in rural India and globally. The script for 'Two Brides' was formally registered with the SWA in June 2018 and even went on to win the runner-up award at the Cinestaan Storytellers Competition the same year.

According to Goswami, the idea of veils and mistaken identities is rooted in classical storytelling, referencing writers such as William Shakespeare, Alexandre Dumas, and Rabindranath Tagore who have explored similar themes.

Clearing the air, he concluded: ‘Our story, characters, and dialogues are 100% original. Any allegations of plagiarism are completely untrue. These allegations not only undermine my efforts as a writer but also the tireless efforts of the entire filmmaking team.’