Bollywood films and plagiarism

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The Indian film industry centered in Mumbai, known as Bollywood, is an extremely prolific industry. Because films are often made quickly, on limited budgets, there is much incentive for certain scriptwriters and music directors to plagiarize. In some occasions, they may mine their own work, lifting riffs and themes from earlier films, imitate successful South Asian songs or films, or copy movies or hit songs from other countries' film industries (such as Hollywood).

Sometimes the copying is merely a matter of imitating theme or style, and is not strictly plagiarism. However, tunes or scenes may be copied wholesale, without credit or payment to the original author.

Bollywood fans often do not agree as to whether similarities are coincidental, mere homage, or actual plagiarism.

Contents

[edit] Films alleged to contain plagiarism

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

[edit] 1990s

Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995)

This film was directed by Mansoor Khan, and according to reviewers is a remake of Kramer vs. Kramer. The Deccan Herald proclaimed that "Mansoor Khan's Akele Hum Akele Tum had Kramer v/s Kramer written all over it"[1] while Shoma Chatterji described it as "a melodramatic remake of the Dustin Hoffman starrer Kramer v/s Kramer".[2]

In Kramer vs. Kramer, a housewife leaves her husband to care for their son while she goes off to find herself. In Akele Hum Akele Tum, a housewife leaves her husband to care for their son to resume her career as a singer. In both movies, the wife eventually sues for divorce and custody of the child. The husband fights desperately to keep the child, to whom he has become a fully committed parent. Some scenes were copied in toto, such as a scene in Kramer vs. Kramer in which the hapless husband tries to make French toast for breakfast and botches it completely. In Akele Hum Akele Tum, this becomes a botched omelette.

However, the Indian movie has a long section detailing how the parents meet, fall in love, and marry, which is completely absent in the Hollywood movie. The added material tries to cast the abandoning wife in a much better light, as a woman driven to leave by an uncaring husband. The endings also differ. In the Hollywood movie, the husband wins custody. In the Bollywood movie, the wife wins, then makes a last minute volte-face and decides to re-unite the family. The Bollywood movie also has much added material, much of it a sardonic look at the Indian film industry.

[edit] 2000s

Main Aisa Hi Hoon (2005)

Main Aisa Hi Hoon's story of a mentally disabled coffee shop worker fighting for custody of his precocious daughter is generally agreed to have been taken from the 2001 American film I Am Sam. The result, according to Planet Bollywood, was a "simple, mediocre version"[3], and Rediff.com felt that the "many songs and the flashback narrative, quite frankly, kill the movie".[4]

Zinda (2006)

In Zinda, a man is imprisoned for 14 years by persons unknown, then freed and given four days to hit large numbers of people with a hammer until he discovers the reason for his suffering. While director Sanjay Gupta called Zinda a homage to every Korean film he had ever seen, Rediff.com noted "that would mean he has only seen Oldboy".[5] The similarities between Zinda and Oldboy was such that the makers of Oldboy were reported to be considering legal action.[6] While as of August 2006 no legal action appears to have been brought, Gupta's 'homage' was still the subject of a scathing attack by The Hindu, who unfavourably compared the director's efforts with that of Quentin Tarantino.[7]

Malamaal Weekly (2006)

Director Priyadarshan, having made his name in Bollywood with remakes of his early Malayalam films, was so confident that his newest screenplay would be considered "totally and absolutely original" that he offered an unspecified cash prize to anyone who could prove otherwise.[8] The film itself is a comedy about an impoverished village turned upside down when a dead man wins the lottery. Despite the BBC[9], the Hindustan Times[10] and numerous others pointing out the eerie similarity with Irish comedy Waking Ned, no more has been heard of Priyadarshan's prize.

[edit] Plagiarism in Music

Music plagiarism is discussed at many Indian music and cinema websites. One site hosts song clips that allow readers to judge for themselves if the song has been plagiarized or not: ITWOFS.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Inspired by.... Deccan Herald (March 23, 2001). Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
  2. ^ Chatterji, Shoma (December 8, 2005). The magic world of film remakes - India. Gather.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-08.
  3. ^ Bhasin, Shruti. Main Aisa Hi Hoon. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
  4. ^ N, Patcy (May 6, 2005). Main Aisa Hi Hoon: worth a miss!. Rediff.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
  5. ^ Verma, Sukanya (January 12, 2006). Dutt shines in a very dark film. Rediff.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-10.
  6. ^ 올드보이 (Oldboy) Makers Plan Vengeance on 'Zinda'. Twitchfilm.net (November 16, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  7. ^ Kamath, Sudish. "Copycat filmmaker lacks creativity", The Hindu, January 20, 2006.
  8. ^ "'Malamaal Weekly' is absolutely original: Priyadarshan", Hindustan Times, 2006-03-10.
  9. ^ Joshi, Poonam (2006-03-03). Malaamal Weekly. BBC. Retrieved on 2006-05-11.
  10. ^ "'Malamaal Weekly' funny but not too stylish", Hindustan Times, March 13, 2006.

[edit] External Links

  • Bollycat - A website that chronicles the plagiarism in bollywood.
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