Laapataa writer’s allegations of stealing Arab film Burqa City break the silence: “These accusations are not only…”

Biplab Goswami, who wrote the story of Kiran Rao’s famous film Laapataa Ladies, dismissed the claim that the plot of the film has been stolen. Earlier this week, many social media users shared a brief clip of the 2019 Arab short film Burqa City, noting the similarities between the stories of the two films.

In Burqa City, a newly married man started looking for his wife after being mistaken for another woman in Burqa. Similarly, Laapataa’s ladies follow the new Deepak while searching for a new bride, who accidentally exchanges with another woman in ghoonghat on the train.

Goswami said in a statement posted on his Instagram page that the allegations were “totally untrue.” “Our story, characters and dialogue are 100% original. Any allegations of burglary are totally untrue. These allegations undermine my efforts as a writer, but the relentless efforts of the entire film production team,” he said.

Goswami also said that the script of Laapataa Ladies was released in theaters in March 2024 and was later selected as India officially entered the 2025 Oscars and has been widely developed for many years. “I first registered a detailed summary of the film and outlined the title of the entire story with the Screenwriters Association on July 3, 2014. Even in this registered summary, there is a scene that clearly describes the groom bringing back the wrong bride and shocking him, because his face clearly also figured out his story, so I came across the story. The groom went to the police station and showed the police the only picture of his missing bride, but the veil was covered in the bride’s face, which led to the comedy,” he wrote.

The author added that he registered the featured script for “Two Brides” at SWA in June 2018.

According to Goswami, the concept of veil and disguise leads to identity errors is a classical story form used by writers such as William Shakespeare, Alexandre Dumas and Rabindranath Tagore. “Laapataa Ladies uses this mistaken identity form with entirely original and unique characters, setting, narrative journey, and social impact. The story, the dialogues, the characters, and the scenes-all stem from years of research and honest reflection. I was deeply invested in understanding the nuances of gender discrimination and inequality, rural power dynamics, and male chauvinisoa across both Indian and global contexts,” he He also shared relevant documents to support his statement.

Ms. Laapataa is directed by Kiran Rao, which includes Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan. The film was produced by Rao’s Kindling Pictures, Aamir Khan’s Aamir Khan Productions, and Jio Studios. Comedy drama streams on Netflix.