Bala: Ayushmann Khurrana film in plagiarism row, directors move courts

When the movie Bala was announced and the first poster was released, the movie was hailed for its unique concept since no movie revolving around the baldness of the protagonist had featured in Hindi films till then. However, as the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer gears up for release, there are not one, but three film teams that have taken on the movie over similar plots. After a tussle with Ujda Chaman over the shifting of release dates and a similar plot, after which Ujda Chaman released a week earlier than scheduled, now two more filmmakers have knocked on the doors of the courts, alleging that Bala makers have copied their work. 

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A filmmaker, Naman Goyal, claimed that Bala features several scenes that are similar to his short film The Beginning to Get Bald. He stated that he had made the movie in 2010 when he was studying at the New York Film Academy. The movie was unveiled on Facebook and had won the Best Short film at the Mini Box Office international film festival 2010, Goyal claimed. He approached a court in Jaipur, seeking a stay on the movie, over copyright violation. A few days ago, a notice was issued to the production banner, Maddock Films, by the Jaipur metropolitan additional district judge asking them to make an appearance in the court for the next hearing on Wednesday. 

READ: Ayushmann Khurrana Performs Ganga Aarti At Varanasi Ahead Of Bala

Another filmmaker Kamal Kant Chandra too moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the movie, accusing the team of Bala of plagiarising his script. Chandra had approached the Bombay High Court earlier, and Supreme Court asked the HC to come to a resolution by November 8, the release date of Bala.  Chandra had claimed that he had shared his script with Ayushmann through Whatsapp in 2017.

He told PTI, “I got a message from Ayushmann within an hour. He said he liked the concept and wanted a narration. As a struggling assistant director, I was very happy to receive positive feedback from a star. I decided to meet him with the script but I got a message from his manager that he was busy so I left the script with them but there was no response.” He added that he wanted to take legal action immediately when the film was announced. “I was surprised to hear the announcement that he was going to do a movie on the theme. I immediately sent them a legal notice,” he was quoted as saying. 

Chandra’s claimed were, however, dismissed by Ayushmann, who had earlier told media persons, "I got the same idea from six different people. I'll just go with the person who is more credible. There was a film called 'Hair is Falling' in 2011 and there were a lot of films which were made on receding hairline but they were not successful." 

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Bala

Bala has been directed by Stree fame Amar Kaushik. The movie also stars Yami Gautam and Bhumi Pednekar. The movie hits the screens this Friday. 

READ: Ayushmann Khurrana Considered Going Bald For The Making Of Bala