Kerala Story Director Sudipto Sen Blasts Filmfare Award For Recognising ‘Plagiarised’ Laapataa Ladies?

Filmmaker Sudipto Sen has taken a direct dig at this year’s Filmfare Awards, calling the event a “tamasha in the name of cinema.” Kerala Files maker shared his pointed views on Instagram just days after Laapataa Ladies swept the awards night in Ahmedabad, taking home Best Film and 12 more trophies.

Sudipto Sen slams the award for giving Best Film to Laapataa Ladies?

Taking to Instagram, Sudipto shared a note criticising the awards and accused the organisers of celebrating films that “barely survived the box office."

He wrote, “This year Filmfare truly is an expose of Indian ‘nouvelle vague’… A blatantly plagiarised film… a film which is a tutorial of brutality and a film which did not survive the box office for more than 72 hours took away most of the crowns. As expected, the best work of 2024 remain elusive. Realised, why Filmfare was so vocal against The Kerala Story receiving National Awards. I am happy that this ‘wood’ community does not recognise, invite or choose us.”

Sudipto went on to express relief at not being part of Bollywood’s “pretentious circle." He added, “We are spared from faking smiles, faking camaraderie, and most importantly, not indulging in any sycophancy. In the end, I am happy that we are saved from hobnobbing with this tamasha in the name of cinema in Mumbai and clicking selfies in Cannes."

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Did Sudipto Sen call Laapataa Ladies ‘plagiarised film’?

Although Sudipto did not mention the films by name, the movie he calls “blatantly plagiarised” is allegedly Laapataa Ladies.

For those unfamiliar, Laapataa Ladies faced plagiarism accusations when it was released, after clips from a short Arabic film, Burqa City, went viral, showing strong similarities in the plot involving mistaken identity due to veils. However, the film’s writer, Biplab Goswami, rejected the claims, saying his story was registered in 2014 and that the theme of mistaken identity involving veiled characters has long been a common storytelling device.

Last month, Sudipto won the National Award for Best Director for The Kerala Story, which also received the award for Best Cinematography. The film narrates the story of a group of women from Kerala who were forced to convert to Islam and join ISIS.