Burqa City director is ‘shocked’ by Laapataa Ladies

Kiran Rao’s film '

Laapataa Ladies

' has been winning praise since its release. But now, the film is again facing serious plagiarism accusations. Many online users are pointing out that 'Laapataa Ladies' looks too similar to the 2019

French-Arabic short film

'

Burqa City

', directed by

Fabrice Bracq

.
The issue came to light when a video comparing scenes from the two films went viral. The video showed side-by-side scenes from 'Laapataa Ladies' and 'Burqa City', with viewers noticing strong similarities.
French filmmaker speaks out
Reacting to the comparisons, 'Burqa City' director Fabrice Bracq told India Today, “First of all, even before watching the film, I was surprised by how closely the pitch matched that of my short film. Then I watched the film, and I was both surprised and shocked to see that, although the story had been adapted to Indian culture, many aspects of my short (film) were clearly present.”

Bracq went on to explain some of the parts that felt too familiar
“Notably – and this is by no means an exhaustive list – the kind, loving, naive husband who loses his wife, contrasted with the other husband who is violent and despicable. The scene with the police officer is also striking: a corrupt, violent, and intimidating policeman surrounded by two sidekicks. Of course, there’s the moment with the photo of the veiled woman.”
He also spoke about a specific scene that stood out to him
“The scene where the kind husband searches for his wife in various shops is particularly revealing – he shows the shopkeepers a photo of his veiled wife, just like in the short film, and then the shopkeeper’s wife comes out wearing a burqa, almost like a nod to 'Burqa City'. There’s also the similarity in the plot twist at the end, where we learn that the woman deliberately chose to run away from her abusive husband – a key narrative element in 'Burqa City'.”
He ended his statement by saying, “And more broadly, the film carries a similar message about women’s emancipation and feminism.”

'Laapataa Ladies' writer Biplab Goswami on plagiarism allegations
In response to the accusations, 'Laapataa Ladies' writer Biplab Goswami issued a statement denying any claims of plagiarism. He stood by his work, saying he had proof of the film’s originality. He shared that the story’s synopsis was first registered with the Screenwriters Association in 2014 and the full script—originally titled 'Two Brides'—was registered in 2018. Goswami said, “My story, script, dialogues, characterisation, and scenes are all 100 percent original. I have not been inspired by any story, movie, or novel.” He also noted that his script was chosen as the first runner-up at the Cinestaan India’s Storytellers Contest in 2018.