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'Gulabo Sitabo': Writer Juhi Chaturvedi accused of plagiarism, here's how makers reacted
Juhi Chaturvedi received a legal notice from late writer Rajeev Agarwal's son Akira Agarwal
DNA Web Team | Jun 07, 2020, 09:49 PM IST
1.Script submitted in Storyteller Script Contest with Juhi Chaturvedi as jury member
According to the notice sent by Akira, Rajeev had submitted a story titled '16 Mohandas Lane' in a contest called Cinestaan India's Storyteller Script Contest, where Juhi Chaturvedi was a jury member. The notice adds that jury members had access to final script of the story, submitted on June 28, 2018.
2.Police complaint filed, SWA approached
Advocate Rizwan Siddiquee sent the notice on behalf of Akira, demanding to see the film's complete script. More so, Akira filed a police complaint with Mumbai's Juhu Police Station for cheating, criminal breach of trust and copyright infringement. The cops have been requested to seize the infringed copy of the work.
He also approached Screenwriters Association (SWA) to mediate in the matter. "The association asked Chaturvedi to submit her Gulabo Sitabo script. However, she failed to submit her script and denied that she ever had access to the script," read the notice.
3.Rising Sun Films deny all claims in official statement
"To begin with, Juhi’s concept for the film was registered in 2018, much before the contest. Furthermore, Juhi never received a copy of the supposedly copied script. This has been independently confirmed by the scriptwriting contest organisers as well. Lastly, our film’s story is different from that sent out in the notice. It is surprising how grave allegations are being made solely on the basis of a two-minute, 41 second trailer,” read the statement from the producers.
On May 29th, SWA ruled in favour of Juhi. Clearly the allegers are upset as the SWA decision didn’t go in their favour. Releasing the notice to the press, harassing us on social media, seems to be a deliberate attempt to malign Juhi and damage the film. We have full faith in our film. At this time, when we have taken the bold decision to release the film on OTT, these baseless allegations only create unnecessary controversy. We request the press to stand by us and condemn the behavior of these allegers and their lawyer for resorting to such tactics only for press, limelight and ulterior motives," read the official statement from the producers.
