Scenesational: As Laapataa Ladies lands in controversy for plagiarism, here’s a look at films that faced the heat in the recent past

India’s official Oscar entry Laapataa Ladies has landed in controversy, as a clip from an Arabic film Burqa City has gone viral. The uncanny similarity between the police station scene in both the movies is in question. So, is it inspiration or plagiarism?

In a hyper-connected world, that it took a year for this to surface comes as a surprise. Though it’s not the first time that Laapataa Ladies has courted controversy. Actor-director Ananth Mahadevan had called out the makers for a similar storyline to his TV film Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol. The film was both written and directed by Ananth Mahadevan in 1999. He recently addressed the concerns, posting on social media, “Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol just made a clean sweep of something called IIFA awards… including best original story! Of course with another title…but then a rose is a rose by any name.”

The story of Laapataa Ladies, which begins on the same note as Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol, takes a different turn. As for Burqa City, the premise is the same but the Fabrice Bracq’s directorial is a short film of only about 19 minutes. All these three, however, offer a challenge to patriarchy. While the makers of Laapataa Ladies are yet to address the issue, we take a look at some controversies that rocked Bollywood in the first quarter of this year.

• Touted as the most expensive Malayalam film ever, L2: Empuraan came under fire for the name of antagonist, violence against women, riot scenes and a track involving Mullaperiyar Dam. Some Christian associations also registered a protest for scenes involving the Church. However, the makers announced over 17 voluntary changes. The film was released last week after a re-censored version that addressed the sensitive content.
• Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava might have been labelled a success, but it faced much opposition before its February release. Battling accusation of distorting historical facts, for which director Laxman Utekar apologised, questions were also raised over a Lezim dance, which was eventually deleted before release. The controversy around it refuses to die though, as post the release the film battles accusation of igniting religious hostility.

• Kangana Ranaut-directorial Emergency, which aimed at a 2023 release, saw the light of the day in January 2025. The film was released theatrically after being cleared by the Censor Board after about 13 cuts and alterations. The changes included cuts on a few violent scenes and a dialogue in reference to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

• Another film waging a CBFC war is Honey Trehan’s Punjab 95. First, the film’s title was in question and CBFC advised 120 plus cuts, which wasn’t acceptable to the makers. The film, based on insurgency period in Punjab, is a biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, a role essayed by singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh. The film’s fate hangs in balance though, but the director vows to take it to the audience.

As we await a response from the makers of Laapataa Ladies on the fresh controversy, we remembers French and Swiss film director Jean-Luc Godard’s words, “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to…”