A still from ‘Burqa City’

Fabrice Bracq, the French director behind the 2019 Arabic short film Burqa City, has voiced concern over what he describes as “striking similarities” between his work and Kiran Rao’s recent feature Laapataa Ladies. The filmmaker said he was “shocked and saddened” upon watching the Indian film, which was brought to his attention by viewers online noting overlapping elements.

Bracq claims that the resemblance goes beyond surface-level coincidences. Speaking to IFP, he pointed out parallels in character archetypes, such as the “naive, loving husband,” a “violent, oppressive” spouse, and a corrupt police officer — figures that populate both narratives. He also flagged a pivotal twist in both films, where a veiled woman is revealed to have fled an abusive marriage, framing it as a core narrative similarity.

Bracq clarified that Burqa City was written in 2017, shot in 2018, and screened internationally in 2019, including at film festivals in Kolkata and Auroville in 2020. He said he had been in talks to adapt the short into a feature-length film, but now questions whether that remains viable in the wake of Laapataa Ladies’ critical and commercial success.

Laapataa Ladies was produced through a partnership between Kiran Rao’s Kindling Pictures, Aamir Khan Productions, and Jio Studios. With Laapataa Ladies recently making waves on the global stage and even entering the Oscars conversation, Bracq expressed hope of speaking directly with the producers “to sort this out.”

Meanwhile, Biplab Goswami, writer of Laapataa Ladies, has refuted any claims of plagiarism. In a statement issued Saturday, he noted that the story was registered with the Screenwriters Association back in 2014 under the working title Two Brides, with the full script filed in 2018. “These allegations not only undermine my work,” Goswami said, “but also that of the entire filmmaking team.”