A few days after the release of Imtiaz Ali’s wonderful new film, the Internet is abuzz with accusations of plagiarisation. But is that really the case?
I liked Imtiaz Ali’s Highway a lot, and when rumours began cropping up on the Internet that the film was a copy of The Chase – a 1994 action-comedy with Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson – my heart sank. It’s a terrible feeling when we surrender ourselves to a work of art, fall in love with it, respect the filmmaker just a little more than we did after the release of his last film that we loved, and then find out he’s a thief – it’s like discovering that the spouse you’ve loved for 20 years is an axe murderer. So when these rumours found their way to my blog, I decided to watch The Chase and see if there was any truth in these allegations. And alongside, thanks to a commenter, I also got hold of Imtiaz Ali’s television version of Highway, which was one of the episodes of the Zee TV series, Rishtey.
As it turns out, The Chase does have a few things in common with Highway. In both films, a rich girl is abducted by a man from the other side of the tracks. In both films, the initial antagonism gives way to understanding and love. But The Chase is a light-hearted entertainment that takes place entirely on the road – the entire film is, as the title promises, one long high-speed chase, along with some pointed commentary (again, light-hearted) about the media – whereas Highway is a drama whose main “action” takes place off the roads, and it’s about two scarred souls healing each other. The temptation to play armchair detective is strong: Could it be that Ali watched The Chase and was drawn to the basic premise, which he then reimagined? We often watch films and comment on them. This character shouldn’t have behaved this way. That twist wasn’t convincing. And if we watchers of cinema can harbour visions of “bettering” the film, surely a maker of cinema is going to be struck with ideas of his own.
But if Ali wanted to rejigger The Chase, then why didn’t he do so when he made that television episode long ago? (Or did he watch the film, if he did, after making that television episode, when he was thinking about how to expand it to a feature film?) One of the many accusations against Highway is that the abduction, as in The Chase, occurs at a gas station. But in the television episode, which the film closely mirrors, the abduction occurs on a deserted stretch of highway. Could it just be, therefore, that a gas station is a logical “set” on which to stage a scene in a road movie, and that ninety per cent of all road movies are going to have at least one scene set in or around a gas station?
I am not defending Ali. Only he knows what he did (or did not do). I am just pointing out why I think Highway isn’t a “copied” or a “plagiarised” film. If anything, The Chase may have served as inspiration, nothing more.
How does one differentiate between copying/plagiarisation and being inspired? I have this simple two-part rule of thumb: (1) If I sense a director’s unique vision or his equally unique fingerprints, and (2) if the scenes that are suspect (namely, similar to scenes from another movie) are outnumbered by the “original” scenes, then the film is either an original work or, at most, something that was inspired by the spark provided by the other movie. And Highway felt, to me, very much a continuation of Ali’s concerns – it belongs, solidly, in his oeuvre. A few years ago, Anurag Basu’s Barfi! faced a similar amount of finger-pointing, thanks to the direct lifts from silent comedy, but I enjoyed that film because these scenes weren’t the whole film – they were just a part of the film, a problematic part, certainly, but still just a part. I wish Basu had acknowledged this at the beginning – maybe with a note that said “This is my homage to the silent comedies that gave me such joy” – but that’s a different issue. The fact that a filmmaker slips up cannot and should not be held against his film, provided my thumb rule is adhered to.
And I understand that your mileage may vary. There are those who feel that, when it comes to the copying-versus-inspiration debate, a drop of ink stains the whole bucket of water. They feel that Salil Chowdhury’s Itna na mujhse tu pyaar badhaa is a “copy” of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, and that RD Burman’s Chura liya hai is, as the lyric suggests, “stolen” from the title song of the film If It’s Tuesday This Must Be Belgium. But the way I look at it – and going back to my thumb rule – I sense, in these songs, the composers’ vision, their fingerprints, and the familiar-sounding melody lines are outnumbered by the other lines.
It also comes down to the quality of the movie, its capacity to engage us, amaze us, affect us. Karan Johar legally obtained the remake rights of Stepmom, but that doesn’t make We Are Family very watchable. Sergio Leone coolly “stole” Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo – though, in an ensuing lawsuit, he claimed he was inspired by other sources – but while we may have to admit that Leone did something unethical (or even illegal), we also have to admit that Fistful of Dollars is a bloody entertaining film. (Interestingly, no one is credited for story or screenplay in the opening credits. The sole writing credit is the one for dialogue, by Mark Lowell. There’s also a “Script Girl” listed – Tilde Watson – but whose script was she supervising?)
Why does this issue crop up so often in the creative arts? I think it’s because everything a creator reads, sees, hears is stored away in the subconscious, and can pop up when he least expects it. From their side, creators must learn to acknowledge this. And from our side, unless the evidence is incontrovertible, we must learn to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Lights, Camera, Conversation… is a weekly dose of cud-chewing over what Satyajit Ray called Our Films Their Films. An edited version of this piece can be found here. Copyright ©2014 The Hindu. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Anu Warrier
February 28, 2014
I’m getting rather tired, actually, of ‘plagiarism’ being thrown around with such regularity. A while before, ‘abuse’ was the ‘word of the day’, and it takes away from the seriousness of what ‘plagiarism’ or ‘abuse’ really is.
At what point does ‘inspiration’ become plagiarism? For me, it is when someone copies scene for scene, dialogue for dialogue and then claims total innocence of the original source. In Barfi, yes, I wish that Anurag Basu had acknowledged his debt to the silent films (I personally feel that it was put in only to channel Charlie Chaplin through Raj Kapoor through Ranbir Kapoor. That is the tragedy of being bound to a dynasty.), but it did not take away from the rest of the film.
I think we are too quick to run down our own films, and Bollywood especially does take a beating – it is fashionable and yes, even *righteous* to look down on Bollywood. Yes, there are instances of outright plagiarism. Shameless plagiarism, even. But it seems to me that today, more and more people watch films to see what they can spot that has the remotest resemblance to any English (or other foreign) film, and then tweet about the ‘copy’. Do they really watch the film to enjoy it, or to play ‘Gotcha!’?
*I foresee great debate in the comments. Have fun. 🙂
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ramitbajaj01
February 28, 2014
“it’s about two scarred souls healing each other”
I felt that the movie was anything but the story of two scarred souls. So much so that the paedophilic angle felt like an afterthought to me.
1. If a 9-year old child is sexually assaulted to the extent of causing him/her pain, it is unlikely that his/her family won’t come to know about it from the behaviour of the child. (the child in this situation is expected to be withdrawn, silent, depressed, confused and absent-minded)
2. Cases where it goes unnoticed are the ones where the child is not physically hurt. Groping, first base, second base.
3. Somebody carrying such a heavy baggage is unlikey to behave in the cool and confident way that Veera exhibits. It’s possible only after catharsis, that happens near interval. So how does one explain the comfortable-in-skin-ness attitude of Veera that’s there right from the first morning in that desert? When Mahabir shouts on her, she has all the valid reasons to shiver and toe the line, instead she takes on him head-on. It’s diffulct for me to buy.
Even if Veera was a scarred person, I don’t think Mahabir did anything to heal her. Veera ofcourse made visible actions to heal him but what did he do?
To me the movie was a coming-of-age story. The girl at the start wonders if there is a way out. At the end she knows that there definitely is a way out. At the start, she steps out in the night out of fear. At the end, she steps out during daytime out of perspective. (To desert her traditional family with their rituals and humdrum was the message, that I felt, Ali wanted to convey and not the one that she deserted them bcoz they couldn’t prevent a crime against her. Maybe Imtiaz is making a statement either to his family here or to the bollywood that he doesn’t conform to their ways and that he knows how to choose a road.)
But ofcourse, the cliched plot was just was an excuse to showcase the brilliant moments that Ali is able to conjure. And that was indeed a treat to watch.
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rahulandrd
February 28, 2014
Just a correction Sir- Anurag Basu and Ranbir Kapoor did mention all the inspirations well before release of movie-Barfi. Please watch their interviews during promotions. Anurag Basu never intended to “STEAL” it- it was a tribute-when we use word “steal” it mean the thief doesn’t want the world to know that he has stolen something, right?- He is great director and has his style of movie making- I don’t think he is that fool to “Steal” from popular and iconic films. Barfi was good movie- don’t malign it by calling it as “plagiarism’-
Coming Highway and The chase- Imtiaz Ali wanted to make this movie as his debut. He loved this story so much that even after making a serial episode (Rishtey), he decided to make a full fledged movie. I don’t think a sound mind like him can ever think of plagiarizing when he is not at all looking at the box-office fate at all. Its a Risky movie- He even mentioned this in his interviews before and after release. Why would he “Plagiarize” if his intention is to tell story and not a “100/200 crore club”. There are no commercial trappings to this movie- This was His story and he just wanted to tell. It was a risky movie and hence he decided to produce himself.
rahulandrd
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Anuja
February 28, 2014
Very interesting article! Agree completely with your rule of thumb… Especially since it is my belief that 100 percent originality in the arts is exceedingly rare. After all art is almost always an imitation of life and in the rare cases it is not, it is mostly an imitation of another piece of art imitating life. Which is why it is important for artistes to be more open about those whose works inspired them to do something of their own along similar lines. It is a gracious, honoest gesture and a great way to cover your backside.
Also there is inadvertent plagiarism, where there is no intent to copy another’s work but it happens simply because the other crawled into your head when you were rushing to make a deadline. Such things are forgiveable but blatant plagiarism is not and those guilty deserve to have the book thrown at them.
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Rajesh
February 28, 2014
In todays India, I dont think there is even a remote chance for a director from our main stream to own up his inspiration or original. That being the case, if we expect them to make exactly a very similar version of the original (unlike what Myshkin did with Nandalala or what Priyadarshan did with Boeing Boeing etc), we must be really stupid. They are intelligent and ‘creative’ enough to make sufficient changes to their version, so that they can always defend. These are cinema guys we are talking about. It is child’s play for them to make something look different. (If the original was oriented around hero, make it a heroine oriented for the new and so on. If hero’s worry was all about action, make the heroine all about the drama **). They have enough intelligence to make sure that we will never have incontrovertible evidence Sir, I am afraid.
Read somewhere about this study, which says on the whole there cannot be more than 40 or something basic story premises, from all cultures in the world.
What I dont understand is, once these guys admit – even before hand or after release – that the story is/was based on a short scene or something from so and so film or something like that, then the so called arm chair detectives wont have anything to argue about. The creator can still be proud about his improvement or rennovation or Indianization or whatever..
Anyways, how one enjoy a movie that is there to see – these are all personal choices. Like what my boss says – it is nice that we make movie based on good internationals, like that we get different stories, I am never going to watch those ones, let me get to see this one in my language – good point, isnt it. So those who liked Highway, it is good for them.
Most of the best ‘cinema’ from India, are rejected in the BO. So basically we get what we deserve (even if the new version is good or bad)
——-
**Look at what Blessy did with Pranayam – In Innocense ‘love making’ at the old age is a major aspect, in Pranayam his heroine is really affected by even a touch of the ex lover – excellent change to satisfy the great Indian hypocrisy.
– It is interesting that you say Barfi had lifted only scenes from the silent era. I think the movie had lifted scenes through out. The makers even used this very famous scene from Kikujiro (one that I remember well). There were many actually, through out, not just the ones in the beginning. ..
– Those who have seen the 90’s Malayalam film – Vietnam Colony – have you noticed that the story of Avatar is quite the same. None of us will say that Cameron might have seen Vietnam colony (I dont know, why not?), so there is this remote chance of having accidental similarities too , of course.
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Madhuri
February 28, 2014
I have seen the movie, Rishtey Episode and (now) The Highway! I realised that it was a movie version of the Episode when I saw the promos but The Chase did never came to my mind.
And as it is said, there are only seven original stories so if you strip the techniques, visions and sensibilities of a storyteller (in any form), you will be able to say everything is inspired from something else.
PS. It is said that Vyas while writing Mahabharat, covered all the topics under the sun so the Sanskrit saying goes as Vyas-uchistat-Jagat sarvam (Literal meaning:Vyas have tasted everything in this world, meaning : Vyas has covered all the possible subjects of stories), Give enough time and someone will be back with a story in Mahabharat too 😉
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MANK
February 28, 2014
@Brangan
when you wrote this on highway thread :”Will steal a thought or two for a piece I’m doing for this weekend “,man didnt know to this extend.You pretty much rounded up our comments there and put your own thumb rule on it. Smart thinking. now we cant even accuse of plagiarism based on your thumb rules and especially now that you have moved us so much with it. 🙂 . so now what do we discuss here that we have not already discussed?May be about blogger’s plagiarizing from commenters 🙂
BTW Re: yojimbo-FFD, Kurosawa personally wrote a letter to Leone calling FFD a great film , but it was his film rather than Leone’s and he owns him compensation. Leone actually carried this letter around for a long time and showed it everybody as a badge of honor.
Re:Salil chowdhary, much of his songs are influenced by russian songs most importantly dharti kahe pukaar ke from do beegha zameen which is directly influenced from a russian marching song
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venkatesh
February 28, 2014
Why is this even an issue ?
If you have not seen the original and later some one says – Film X had scenes taken from Film Y – well so what ? Does that diminish your enjoyment of the “lifted” film ? Do you feel like you have been had ?
If you have seen the original and walk into a film innocently and realise its a copy/inspiration then ask for your money back – you can do that if you walk out of the theatre in the first 30 minutes. If you cannot figure it out in the first 30 minutes , then its not lifted to start with.
All this pontificating on where a certain “inspiration” was from is nothing but a dick-measuring contest.
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Madan
February 28, 2014
Very well argued. I agree for the most part. On Chura Liya, I have to differ as I find the mukda too close to If It’s Tuesday. Now if there is one section of music in an interlude or a percussion pattern that sounds like something before it, that’s fine but a mukda/pallavi is the soul of the song. In other words, trying to argue Satya to be a copy of Godfather just because both are films based on the underworld is not something I can take seriously as those are incidental similarities, like the ones you have observed between Highway and Chase (haven’t seen either film, so no comment on that comparison, by the way). But I cannot strike off Deewangi that easily; it did seem too close to Primal Fear when I watched it. The basic plot might be similar in n number of films, but the crux is what ought to differentiate one from the other and if the crux is too similar, a claim of plagiarism would probably be reasonable.
Read somewhere about this study, which says on the whole there cannot be more than 40 or something basic story premises, from all cultures in the world.
– But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? I am not sure about that particular number, but I have read that only a similar number of basic plots exist for detective stories. That being the case, the artist is NOT, imo, obliged to disclose that his work is like such and such. As I have mentioned above, there is a difference between the basic plot and the crux. If the crux is the same and the DIFFERENCES are incidental, there is a problem if the artist does not give due credit. As in, the fact that the characters in Deewangi have Indian names is not a valid argument against it being ripped off from Primal Fear. But there can be n number of movies made about the kidnapper and his victim going on the road and eventually falling in love; one does not automatically become a copy of the other.
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Dracarys
February 28, 2014
One more film where Highway ‘seems’/could be inspired from, is the movie, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragaon’s desert segment where Zhang Ziyi runs after the dacoit in pursuit of her comb thereby ‘free’ing herself from her parents.
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soumya
March 1, 2014
Wow.. I am surprised by sheer amount of energy and time spent in defending and attacking a particular piece of work as original/ inspired/ stolen. To just give another perspective how many of us would have seen/ want to see The Chase after seeing Highway? hasn’t an inspired/ copied work succeeded in giving the supposedly original work the audience it never had? I am not supporting plagiarism.. but I am not a part of prestigious award jury which is supposed to judge a work based on its merit and originality; to put it simply I am an audience member who will ultimately end up watching what I truly enjoy( doesn’t matter original/inspired/ stolen).. just some food for thought for all those crying foul- how many of us would have been able to even access ” Mona Lisa” , the great work of art by Leonardo da Vinci if not for the countless replicas and reinterpretations?
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Ravi K
March 1, 2014
“The Chase” is a goofy comedy, so I fail to see how anyone can say with a straight face that “Highway” is a copy of that film.
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auroravampiris
March 1, 2014
@Rajesh: I think you’re making an interesting point. I think there are films that are just collages of films that have come before. Avatar is Pocahontas + Ferngully + Dances With Wolves + The Last Samurai. Vietnam Colony is Pocahontas+Dances With Wolves in Kerala (arguably).
However, I think there’s a difference between the two that I’m not sure I can articulate perfectly. In Vietnam Colony – even if it’s a story that’s been told a thousand times before – the characters have personality. Mohanlal’s initially selfish “clever Brahmin” character, the mother-and-daughter pair, the gangsters, the construction company… all of these have a sort of quality to them that brings them to LIFE. The film actually says something – about gentrification, about forced migration, about development and how it affects the ones that are not really seen by the media.
On the other hand, Avatar is a film that makes use of the same tropes that Vietnam Colony uses, but it’s lifeless. Cartoonish humans are evil caricatures. The Na’vi use the “Magical Negro” trope and are thus personifications of good. The film has no personality – it has nothing to SAY. It seems to preach naturalism, but doesn’t articulate WHY. (I liked Avatar, by the way, warts and all).
And I guess that’s the point BR is making here. While Vietnam Colony and Avatar are both inspired by the age-old story of “colonist gone native” (which is a VERY old trope dating back to stuff like Pocahontas as well as the voyages of James Cook and Telemachus), the former manages to do something with its inspiration and tell a cohesive story with thematic consistency, while the other is an empty film that powers through by virtue of its special effects.
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Anu Warrier
March 1, 2014
@Ramitbajaj: interesting take on it, but I beg to disagree about a couple of things. The first that if a 9-year-old had been sexually assaulted, the family would have known? Not necessarily. Many abuse victims are not in fact, disturbed or depressed or withdrawn. Not at the time. They cannot really fathom that it is wrong. Especially when it is a family member or a close friend who is abusing them.
Secondly, many of them do not tell their families what happened, or in the rare instances they do, many of them are not believed. Thus the victims feel doubly betrayed *as they grow up* and realise what they went through was not ‘normal’ as they thought it.
Secondly, many children do, in fact, appear pretty self-possessed outwardly. Some of them are also able to cope with the abuse better and *are* self-possessed anyway, until some other trauma brings it all back. Then they can fall apart – spectacularly.
Just my two cents. *grin*
@ Rajesh: Copying is not only an essential ‘Indian’ trait. Hollywood does it all the time, mainly from European/Korean/Japanese films. Not that that makes it right, but…
excellent change to satisfy the great Indian hypocrisy.
Why is everything a negative? So Blessy didn’t show the older couple making love. So what? Was it essential to show them do that when a touch, a look is enough to convey the gist? On the one hand, you blast Blessy for copying from another source; on the other, you excoriate him for not copying it in its entirety. At least, be consistent. Yes?
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Sanjay Shankar (@sanjayshankar)
March 1, 2014
Vetrimaaran has started listing his sources for inspiration in the end credits under a section called ‘Filmography’. I think that is an appropriate way to give credit for inspirations. Of course, if filmmakers are planning on remaking something entirely, then I believe they should buy the rights. Another director has also listed a bunch of films under ‘Filmography’ recently. It was a recent Tamil movie that I watched and it did not suck. I am surprised I can’t recollect the name of the movie.
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Sanjay Shankar (@sanjayshankar)
March 1, 2014
Venkatesh – it does not diminish the entertainment value, but it does diminish the value of the creator and the creation in some sense. I understand your point of view that it does not matter to the vast majority who watch the movie. But that line of argument cannot excuse someone like Sagar Bellary calling ‘Bheja Fry’ his own creation.
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ramitbajaj01
March 1, 2014
Actually, Anu, I was saying that it is highly unlikely that a child is raped and his/her family won’t know from the behaviour of the child. Sure, peadophilism goes unnoticed but that’s only when the child is not explicitly hurt (physically).
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vikram
March 1, 2014
BR, excellent stuff…very timely in these snarky times when everyone is trying to pull down public figures in all areas….in the case of films, I think there comes a genuine sense of disappointment if one has liked the inspired film…this is a bit like having to be defensive when others remark about why one’s child is not tall/ is thin/ is not fair/ dark/ failed the exams etc….once a film is liked, one invests additional privilege to it…., having said that, considering that there are so few story angles left to mine, we need to look at each film on its own merit and derive pleasure from it if its good (derivative or otherwise) and dislike it (even if it were to be.touted as original)…that, was my 2 paise on the subject…
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MANK
March 1, 2014
@Rajesh, @Aurora
Speaking of Vietnam Colony, it was more inspired by the Vietnam situation that the title suggests then the colonial gone native trope.America standing for the company that wants to take advantage of the warring factions in the country. In all other cases (pocohontas,DWW,Avatar etc), the native population is shown as a united spiritually coherent unit. here its shown as a bunch of warring factions always fighting with one another.the connect is most evident in the nedumudi venu character that owns the colony and he could very well have stood for vietnam itself. Deven his lawyer (representing America) arguing his case and in the process becoming rich and powerful, while he (vietnam) becomes a pauper and abandoned and inflicted with illness and all.Agree with Aurora that some of the characterizations had more weight even though the film is still populated by the usual siddiq lal stereotypes.
I am quite surprised with comparisons Avatar. Avatar was a great audio visual experience (nothing more) and that was the reason for its success. The plot in the film is what Mr. Brangan would refer to as “A clothesline just to hang those awesome special effects on which Cameron was working for 15 years. So he just chose the easiest plot that would be digested by an international audience.
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MANK
March 1, 2014
BTW speaking of Pranayam – inocense, blessy claims to have never seen the film.I have always found the females characters in his films really problematic. he paints them always as passive and asexual and one dimensional. Especially for being a revered filmmaker and the disciple of Padmarajan and Bharathan,
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Vishak Bharadwaj
March 1, 2014
In an interview, Basu mentioned that he wanted to add a note of tribute in the beginning of Barfi ( you can actually catch a Chaplin cut out in the movie somewhere ), but the censor board added its usual ‘ mera naam Mukesh ‘ crap and it resulted him cutting it off!
BTW @brangan did you read the article with The new censor CEO?
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/entertainment/bollywood/Its-time-for-a-clean-up-act/articleshow/28869804.cms
Lord help us!
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Rajesh
March 1, 2014
@Anu Warrier – Maam, may be watching Innocense, you could realise it(If you have already, forgive me). An Indianisation, how it destroy the beauty of a good story. He followed everything in that story towards it, but was scared to do it, as that would have back fired with our family audiences or may be he didnt want some scene like that to influence the (future) thoughts of our women(!!!).
For our maochists(including cinema wallah), our modernism or cultural evolution is acceptable only upto the point, just behind the sexuality of woman, married or not. After that point, culture is very important, it must remain as it was, how the colonialists taught us to be, and woman are the only ones responsible to maintain the culture.
I think I am consistent, I dislike distorting the original story (if they were good and beautiful 😂 ), and would rather prefer somebody doing a full copy of the story, by which we get to see how we perform the orginal story!. Just my idea😂.
@aurora, @Mank – yes, both are poles apart. But I didnt like Avatar and didnt even complete the movie – I cant enjoy cartoonish / animated characters at all on screen, nor can I bear the 3D viewing, which is a pain for me. I do agree, Avatar had lot of incredibly brilliant imagination and hard work behind, but it was not life for me. As you say, its lifeless for me too.
@mank – I can only appreciate how much you can recollect from all this old movies!!
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Rajesh
March 1, 2014
@Anuwarrier – Copying is not only an essential ‘Indian’ trait. Hollywood does it all the time, mainly from European/Korean/Japanese films. Not that that makes it right, but…
Hollywood are the masters of the same. But most of the time, they own it up, at least when they are cornered.
May be we are trying to be like Hollywood, thats why we do this often. (just look at the new review of BRangan. Earlier we had romantic movies, now we are trying to make romcom’s in the Hollywood format. And most Hollywood romcoms are taken from French..)
I have always asked, why the French/Dannish/Greek or Latin film makers never do what Holly/Bollywood does***. for them, creativity, originality and aesthetics are very important. In Europe almost 95% of actors come from strong theatre background and that shows in their performance. The performances of even Dannish TV serials are two levels higher than most Hollywood. (Of course, there are excellent players in Hollywood too, but..the situation is kind of similar in India, very few good players with strong theatre background) Sorry I am getting somewhere..
*** – Of course, even the French try to make stupid entertainers imitating Hollywood, but thats on the minority. And the influence of Jewish money in Hollywood and western show business is huge..
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Rajesh
March 1, 2014
@Mank – Yes, and he also mentioned that the story of Pranayam was in his mind for 10 years.. I was laughing out when I heard that. Because Innocence released in 2000. Exactly 10 or 11 years after he comes with Pranayam.
I have read somewhere that his Kazcha also has an original. I dont know and I havent see the so called original too.
Laljose also claims the same for Tsotsi!!!
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Anantha krishnan
March 1, 2014
superb article!!! please write another article about the difference between copied songs and inspired songs…I am really hurt by some YouTube videos on A R Rahman copycat work…some doesn’t make any sense at all…there is a video posted by some guy about mannipaya copycat(from james horner) work but the similarity in that case lasts for a very few seconds…The case is similar for many other accusations like omana penne,mukkala,urvasi,hello mr ethirkachi,kattu sirukki,sadda haq,phir se ud chala etc…In all these cases the inspiration lasts for very few seconds and some accuse the whole song as ‘copied’…please hear all those and do an article on that too so that people can understand the difference(not only rahman,even some songs of ilayaraja have been accused of plagarism unwantedly).There are some shameless direct lifts rin tamil such as vaarayo vaarayo but people are unable to compare it with the 5 sec similarity of urvasi and they call both as copied songs!!!
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MANK
March 1, 2014
@Vishak Bharadwaj
Man that was some article. I dont know whether to laugh or cry at this pathetic state of censor board. How are these guys appointed in the first place dear lord.Huh , the last censor chief was from customs !reaaaaally? only in india, now he’s going to tell Aamir khan and Anurag kashyap, what films to make.
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MANK
March 1, 2014
@Rajesh
Thanks for the compliment bro. Some films and scenes , they just remain stuck in your mind forever , i guess.Yeah the french also try to make stupid entertainers with Luc besson being the leader of the pack!. some are quite interesting like Banlieu13. Regarding modifications in pranayam, an argument could be made that that’s what is meant by adapting to the country\state’s cultural milieu.(even though i have already expressed my reservations about blessy’s women). As for laljose tsotsi claims, i never finished watching mulla so i cant tell, i couldnt take it after the first hour , i walked out.
BTW I just didnt understand this statement “And the influence of Jewish money in Hollywood and western show business is huge..” . Are you referring to their blatant commercialization or something else?
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Suganth
March 1, 2014
This is what the late Balu Mahendra had to say on this topic in this interview (http://bit.ly/1ank8SM) while I met him a couple of months back, and one I find very reasonable…
“I have been influenced by other films in a very great way. As little kids, we learn by listening to other people speaking. We talk grammatically right Tamil when we are eight or nine but start learning Tamil grammar only at the age of 14. So, how did we talk absolutely correct Tamil at the age of nine? We learn from the elders and start imitating. I have learnt from my elders; people like Satyajit Ray, De Sica… These two have influenced me greatly. Plagiarism is totally different; it is theft. Talking proper Tamil at the age of nine is not copying. Is it copying if I manage to draw you exactly? It is my ability to draw and it is not easy. I’m not propagating copying, but copying is not easy. Don’t copy but be inspired by your elders. If you want to copy a material, get the permission. At least tell the person who has done the film that I want to remake your film and ask for their permission. And, once you get the permission from the original author, acknowledge the fact. Tell this in all your interviews. Then, it doesn’t become plagiarism.”
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Rajesh
March 1, 2014
@Mank – this is a bloody topic to discuss my friend. I think they even have paid trolls to fight it out online, like our own Hindutva guys. I should mellow down, so..
Havent you ever noticed that all the propaganda behind Hollywood movies and most mainstream movies from the other West. It is only one community who have suffered or the villains are always so and so. It gets absurd, when even Hollywoods romcoms will have a dialogue here and there to this effect. It is not that, there are nobody in the mainstream who would like to do things from the other side, but the pressure against is huge. It is true even outside Hollywood. But of course, there are still brave guys on the other side who fight it out. But it is difficult. A Turkish film about Iraq occupation, was completely erased out of the world. You cant even find the name of that movie on net. I am desperate to watch this one.
Try to watch the Canadian movie – Incendies. Brilliant one. Now imagine something like that to be made from some mainstream industries. Impossible. A far far remote attempt was Clooney’s Syriana, but he suffered a lot because of that move.
Having said all this, it is a kind of surprise that Act of Killing is nominated for docus..
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Nkb
March 2, 2014
Plagarising and inspiration are such different words that trying to justify one for the other is to almost belittle the art it supposes, imo. In B’wood Filmmakers, the loud ones like Sajid and not so loud ones like Kunal Kohli seem to have no shame in doing so.This isn’t about inspiration or else, but wanted to share anyway. I remember watching an episode of Chalo Cinema where Kunal Kohli was ‘reviewing’ a movie called ‘Dil Kya Kare’. I can’t remember the details but he said that it was very convenient for the story that the character of Kajol and Ajay have a one night stand and she is pregnant. So fast forward a few years later, the character of Kajol in Fanaa is just as conviniently is pregnant, and this time the plot is even more ridiculous.The utter,sheer hypocrisy of it.And no, I am not willing to give him the benefit of doubt that he was earnest in either of the cases.
Kohli’s Indianised Harry Met Sally had me in such pain, I will never forgive him for ruining what is my one of my favourite movie of all times. If we like a work of art, and one wants to improvise or work on it, it should add to its value and not degrade it. Sadly, the judge of that is what is so complicated and futile at times, because I know a few people who were touched by Hum Tum….SIGH! and thought it better that the original…Double SIGH!! I think even in cases where its a few moments here or a scene there and not a whole movie, how it pays homage to the original is how I would judge it and I lament when its lost in the translation.
Same with the Taiwanese movie Three Times, Kohli’s ‘indianisation’ of it is so abysmal it hurts. Here is an article about a French movie I found so original, even when knowing that it had its roots from a Harvey Keitel movie. In this case I feel the value has been added to the original movie, and that discourse about it, when it happens will be about both. Isn’t that how inspiration should be?
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/nov/03/features
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Uma
March 2, 2014
Well even an original story has to have some real life inspiration. The director probably would incorporates some traits of someone whom they know of in real life.
Scene by scene lift and copying an entire tune is what irks me. And what is even more irritating is people lime Sajid Khan while making fun of others never admits that most of his movies are just copies. That kind of arrongance in this internet age bothers me.
A few years before Kannathil Mutham ettal released, I read a real life story in Reader’s Digest about an asian girl who is adopted and grows up in the US and she is in search of her real parents.
I dont remember all the details, but she finally traces her mom and her adoptive parents set up a meeting with their daughter and birth mom. The mom either no- shows or even when she arrives she does not even acknowledge her daughter.
When I was watching Kannathil Mutham Ettal, I was like I know this story…this is a copy. But I later realized that even though the main crux of the story is from an inspiration, Mani Ratnam added several layers like Sri Lankan Tamil issue, relationship between Simran and the adopted daughter to make the film his own. Did Mani ever acknowledge the inspiration behind his film, well that is another story.
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brangan
March 2, 2014
Anu Warrier: I think we are too quick to run down our own films
But this has always been the case no? The contempt with which Indians talk about Indian cinema, whether movies or music, is really quite unbelievable 🙂
Anuja: Also there is inadvertent plagiarism
Yes, that too. It’s scary sometimes because you read so much and store away phrases and lines in your subconscious, which keeps churning as you write, and you hope what’s coming to you from that churn isn’t something that’s obviously a “copy.”
Madan: And the way I look at the “Chura liya” is that someone heard an antara-less song (the original has only repetitions of the mukhda), and was inspired enough to “complete” it. This happens all the time while writing too, when you see a thought in someone else’s story that looks like deserves development and then you make your own story from it.
vikram: I think there comes a genuine sense of disappointment if one has liked the inspired film
Exactly. I think there’s a sense of betrayal, almost. I don’t know why it should be there… but it’s there.
Vishak Bharadwaj: What a terrifying interview. Downright fascist!
Suganth: Really? I agree in principle with what he says, but given the “inspiration quotient” in so many of his films, I don’t recall his speaking about this aspect in his interviews… Nor of his getting permission from the makers of the original.
Uma: Well, he has talked about the story in the book. This extract may be from an older draft of the manuscript but the general content is the same:
RANGAN: How did Kannathil Muthamittal come about? I’ve heard a story involving an article from Reader’s Digest.
RATNAM: I think it was in Reader’s Digest too, but what I saw was in Time. It was a story about a child adopted from the Philippines and brought up in the US, and her parents bringing her back to the Philippines to see her birth mother. There was an emotion there that could be placed in this movie. I think Hasini was the one who read the article and showed it to me. That’s how the germ of the idea came about. I told her to make it into a film. At that time, she was into television serials. She didn’t want to get into films.
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Madan
March 2, 2014
BRangan: That is a good explanation of what he may have wanted to. Just that he ought to have given appropriate credit if that was the case. Carpenters worked over many ordinary songs (including a jingle, for God’s sake) into evergreen hits but they credited the originals in their albums. Yes, it’s more of a legal issue but it reflects badly on the integrity of an artist if he is unable to admit that he leaned rather heavily on a particular work. If say Donovan and RDB actually had collaborated for the song and Donovan had come up with the first verse, both would have been credited as songwriters.
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Gradwolf
March 2, 2014
http://www.jim-jarmusch.net/miscellanea/author_jim_jarmusch/my_golden_rules.html
#5. That’s all.
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Jerina
March 3, 2014
A much needed summing up of fans’ angst BR. As usual, I find myself nodding my head word for word of your blog post. And I am so glad you’ve included ‘Barfi’ as an example here. I was sorely disappointed when people thrashed it a little unfairly I think, because like Rahulandrd I too have read Anurag Basu’s defense and due acknowledgement for the inspiration.
Many people scorn Mills and Boons calling them amateur and mindless, minting money by churning out book after book of the same old rich, arrogant man falling for the helpless, sweet girl premise. I may agree in part, but it is a grave injustice to all those writers who make their stories stand out and make one want to grab another M&B.
I feel its the treatment of a story that counts, because the situations are probably going to be the same in that genre. There’s always going to be a story that has already been heard or seen, and if taking inspiration from others is considered plagiarism then there might come a time when people are going to shout themselves hoarse for taking inspiration from nature itself! God forbid those days. 🙂
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Suganth
March 3, 2014
Baradwaj: As far as films are concerned, I think he credited Misery in the opening of Julie Ganapathi, though I’m unsure about the rest. But, post his demise, I read this interesting tribute by a Tamil writer. Apparently, Balu Mahendra had adapted his short story that appeared in a Tamil magazine for the TV series Kadhai Neram. Mahendra had also shot it but a couple of days before it was aired, the writer got a call from the director, who apologized for shooting without getting his permission first (he apparently cited that he could not get the writer’s contact details from the magazine on time) but promised to send him a cheque, which he received some time later. The piece had a slight back-handed complimentary tone, but it indicates that he at least took some steps in crediting sources.
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SUGGU
March 3, 2014
Agree to most of the parts but regaring Barfi I diasgree to an extent. The chaplin moments could be called an inspiration but what about the moments which wowed us and then later you realise they are stolen. These scenes can’t be called inspired, esp – the clock tower, the shoe flinging one, the car falling down & the lampost falling. These are wonderful scenes that touched me and thought what a genius way of saying the simplest of things. That’s where you see the craft of writing but later when you realise that its lifted from some film, one is left heart broken. That’s cheating!!!
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Rahini David
March 4, 2014
SUGGU: I don’t quite understand why the Chaplin scenes are accepted as an inspiration but not the shoe flinging. Is it basically that you can take from an already popular source and not from a obsure source? I have no interest in foreign movies and watch only Indian movies and usually only popular ones. A movie may take 20 scenes from 20 different movies and string them together. So what? I was shown something and seeing it gave me pleasure. So I am happy with the director. If it was already in another movie that is fine with me. I may chuckle at the original scenes. But should I feel cheated?
“These are wonderful scenes that touched me and thought what a genius way of saying the simplest of things.”
Why are you not feeling happy that he obliged and showed you something so sweet and touching? I may never have come across those scenes at all. A cinephile may have mentioned that there are 2 Korean movies released in 1990 that were wonderful but I’d never have gone there. He essentially gave me something to taste that I wouldn’t have wanted to taste in it’s original container. I don’t mean huge storylines here but small significant shots, particular offbeat dialogue, a meet cute or particular twist.
BTW, I didn’t like Barfi that much. Just wondering why this is a big deal.
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Madan
March 4, 2014
This is just a general response to the argument that how does it matter if it is plagiarised if it delivered enjoyment. It matters because it also deprives another artist of a livelihood. If the artist had been rightfully credited, it’s not only that royalties may have accrued to him/her but his/her name would have also got more recognition. Metallica allegedly borrowed riffs for the single Enter Sandman from a relatively unknown metal band Excel. I say allegedly because I would not like to be sued by Lar$ for defamation (the irony!). Enter Sandman made millions for the band whereas but for Excel dragging Metallica to court they would be unknown. If plagiarism is acceptable, what is the incentive for an artist to write something original. I would like to see what happens to the complacent claims of there never having been any originality anyway at all if art does become totally bland and devoid of identity because everybody’s busy copying each other and that is totally ok. If somebody stole your project, appropriated credit and got a huge bonus in the appraisal, I don’t think you would be able to be as sanguine about it as you want the people who discuss plagiarism to be. This is not to negate my earlier point that incidental similarities by themselves don’t make a case for plagiarism.
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Rahini David
March 5, 2014
Madan: “I would like to see what happens to the complacent claims of there never having been any originality anyway at all if art does become totally bland and devoid of identity because everybody’s busy copying each other and that is totally ok.”
My point is basically that a shoe throwing scene or a clock tower doesn’t make art become totally bland. It is like mixing the gene pool a bit. It makes things better mostly. And sometimes it doesn’t.
Many Barathiraja movies have the girl pricking herself on a thorn and the Guy picking the thorn out of her foot. When a similar scene is enacted in a Tamil movie in 2014 “Pothi vecha malligai mottu” will probably play in the background (and BR will Bitty Ruminate on use of Illayaraja songs in current milieu). It will be called a homage or a parody depending on whether it is meant as a joke or not. If a French director uses it in his movie, his audience will not make the connection. But I don’t see why the french director should go confessing to his audience that it wasn’t truly original and all that. Essentially anybody can think about thorns pricking a barefooted girl’s foot. By the same note, anybody can think up a shoe thrown about to announce one’s presence. Why do people feel cheated or offended for this?
Well nobody should steal my project and get a huge appraisal. On the same note, I can’t get offended that some other company is using the same ConvertCurrency Javascript function that I lovingly wrote even if it uses the same variables that I once declared. The entire IT industry will come crashing down if Ctrl+V didn’t work anymore.
Again I don’t mean this in cases were entire tunes or story (and Character arc) are lifted. But where snippets are lifted.
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Vanya
March 5, 2014
@Rahini, it’s interesting that you brought in the software analogy. Being a scientist, and constantly working under the assumption that anything new is created standing on the shoulder of giants, I’m perfectly comfortable with Barfi-ing so long as all the sources are credited where possible — preferably at the end of the movie. Perhaps our level of comfort or discomfort with labeling something as plagiarism is just a function of our own creative baggage?
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KayKay
March 5, 2014
Ahem! While we’re on this topic:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news-interviews/Uthama-Villains-first-look-Inspiration-or-copy/articleshow/31398126.cms
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Madan
March 5, 2014
Rahini: Fair enough, I don’t have issues anyway as long as the scenes in question are just generic or incidental. Since I have not watched Barfi, I cannot comment on whether that was indeed the case or whether the source material was made rather obvious by its treatment. If hypothetically, a director copies a few scenes frame for frame from another and those are the only ones that redeem the film in the eyes of most of the critics, how does that work?
Anyhow, my only point is that what pleasure the audience derives from it has no relation to plagiarism. Even a well rendered, tastefully done copy is still a copy. My comment wasn’t really in response to the discussion on Barfi and that’s why I said it’s more of a general comment. I often find people in this country saying, “So what if it is copied, I love the song/film, so I don’t care”. And that is why I drew the parallel to stolen project/appraisal. Before we seek to somehow rationalise our fondness for something that we know is copied, we should put ourselves in the shoes of the original artist, even if it is an obscure artist from another country.
And yeah, I don’t have a problem with copying per se, just with uncredited copying. To build on that point in relation to the Salil Choudhry example that Mr.Rangan has given, Mozart’s compositions are already in the public domain so there is no bar on copying them as long as the ‘arrangement’ is different, at least as far as I understand. Whether there are any devils in the details, I wouldn’t know! If people feel ‘enraged’ at the music director just rearranging the notes to arrive at a different composition, too bad but it’s perfectly fine. Now to those people, I would recommend actually trying to write some original music absolutely unadulterated by classical influence.
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Rahini David
March 6, 2014
Madan: And I didn’t watch Highway, I am only talking about the basic concept of what copying really is.
“and those are the only ones that redeem the film in the eyes of most of the critics, how does that work?”
Well in that case the director probably chose the wrong profession and should try to get into a profession where his real skill set is put to use.
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Rajesh
March 6, 2014
@KayKay – I am not supporting Kamal here, but that must be harsh. He doesnt even need to copy the French photographer here. Even I have more than1000 colour transparancies of Theyyam (a folk art from North Kerala – ritualistic) dance, and should have at least 200 plus close up portraits similar to the one in the link. I means hundreds of thousands of pro photographers and almost all population of North Kerala and the visitors might have such photographs of this brilliant art form, which can be easily spotted in temples in North Kerala between October and late April, especially they are at peak from Jan to March. So once Kamal says, he was inspired by theyyam, this controversy would subside. Lots of theatre, dancers and ad makers use face paintings of dances like Theyyam, Kathakali, Padayani.
However, Kamal is just another Indian film personality who want to make Hollywood style movies. Inspite of being a horrible movie, Vishwaroopam, one of the reasons for which I hated it was how he was trying to make a Hollywood style movie. Didn’t one of the very first scenes of that movie had an Indian – leading lady character – talking to a Therapist (just because most Holly characters do this) and add to it, later we know this Indian has not even been in US for long. Even Indians who are in the west for many years dont go to these kind of therapists. There were many such things in that really horrible movie.
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venkatesh
March 6, 2014
@Rajesh: While i didnt like Vishwaroopam – lots of false notes in it. I think one of the better things in that movie is the attempt to create a new sensibility (Hollywood style, as you call it).
I was actually a lot more impressed with the “way” they took the movie, the green screen effects, the sets, the lighting effects – those things are world class.
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Rajesh
March 6, 2014
@Venkatesh – I was actually a lot more impressed with the “way” they took the movie, the green screen effects, the sets, the lighting effects – those things are world class. –
No arguements there, but why should Indian characters too behave like Hollywood characters. I can understand when Bollywood do this, but Kamal?
Anyways, technology and production values alone are not considered to make a cinema good – what a relief.
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Rajeev Ravi
March 6, 2014
Kamal is a hollywood obsessed pseudo intellectual ,megalomaniacal hack of the highest order. who looks down upon everything that’s indian.in interviews, even while discussing tamil films he just goes on and on about only hollywood films .
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brangan
March 6, 2014
Madan: A lot of what you say is true, but the whole “copyright infringement” thing is a fairly recent phenomenon, and those days people didn’t know/care about this. TS Eliot has written reams about this. I am not saying that I “excuse” RDB — just that the cultural climate then was a lot different from what it is today.
SUGGU: I look at it this way. He took the scenes he liked and wove a narrative around them, which is very different from copying the entire narrative. This, to me, is like taking a couple of riffs and making your own song. Plus, the feel I got from the film is that of an homage to the silent classics — because the scenes were staged the exact same way, that Chaplinesque way. If only he’d had that disclaimer at the beginning…
BTW, can someone point me to the interview where Basu said he wanted to have a disclaimer but didn’t because of whatever reason?
Rajesh: What makes you think therapy is a non-Indian thing? Do you know how many couples in Indian cities go to therapists for single/joint counselling? We’ve done stories on this. It’s like the therapists can’t keep up with the demand. And a lot of these are middle-class folks. At least in “Viswaroopam,” we’re talking about an upper-class New Yorker.
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Madan
March 6, 2014
brangan: Interesting that you mentioned T S Eliot. Just the other day I read an article on the top five plagiarists in history (selected more for their influence than for the amount of copying they did) and it included T S Eliot and H G Wells (apparently some controversy over his history book). I agree, the cultural climate was different at that time, i.e., a lot more ripping off used to happen. 😀 One thing is the movie/music/publishing industry was less focused on maximising profits at that time and often took a punt on left of centre artists. And also with the internet, information travels so fast so it’s harder for artists to get away with it now. Earlier, the biggies could lean with all their weight on the media and hush it up. Not only RDB, another ‘golden oldie’, Shankar-Jaikishan also ripped off plenty, probably more so than RDB. Maybe I get irked a bit because people take about the ‘golden age’ of SJ/RDB and then bash Anu Malik or Nadeem Shravan for copying. Well, bash them for bad taste, if you will, but copying is by no means their exclusive domain. I can’t believe I actually took up cudgels for Anu Malik! 😛
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Madan
March 6, 2014
* Oops, meant left-field artists, not left of centre.
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Rajesh
March 6, 2014
@brangan – oh, ok, I didnt know that at all.. interesting
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harikrishnan raveendran
March 7, 2014
its a morality thing.Original works require talent and hardwork.If someone simply copies works of other person with ease and takes credit for that………
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Upnworld.com
March 8, 2014
I know you’re getting tired of this thread but 1993’s “A Perfect World” – similar plot, also serious and ultimately poignant. But I still like what Imtiaz Ali did.
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KayKay
March 8, 2014
Rajesh, I threw that in, given the topic on this post and the subsequent discussions, all of which I’ve read with interest. All this will amount to is more publicity (of the free kind) for Kamal. The man’s movies have become a lightning rod for these sorts of overblown outrage not to mention blowhards who get a free ride to their 15minutes of fame as they foam about their distress at the contents of a movie they’ve yet to see. Sandiyar, Vishwaroopam, and now a freaking poster! Old shit in a different bottle.
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burcidibollyreview
March 26, 2014
I recently came across an article about Muazzam Beg, a script-writer, after the release of Rockstar. In the article he claims that the story is his life story and that he narrated it to Imtiaz Ali sometime back. Imtiaz took the story, changed it a little bit and made Rockstar. I then found another article where Muazzam Beg says that he is one of the writers of Rockstar. So it seems that Imtiaz does take inspiration from stories he hears/sees and then puts his own original twist on it. I’m assuming that Muazzam was compensated after his claims came out in the public. Plagiarizing is one thing but being inspired by something is not a crime.
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burcidibollyreview
March 26, 2014
Did Karan Johar obtain the rights of “Falling in Love” for KANK I wonder?
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Sanjay
March 26, 2014
Why just Falling in Love, what about Brief encounter,Closer,….. Johar ripped of from all of them
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Anantha Krishnan
September 6, 2015
I am shocked with some of the lazy and stupid (lazy in the sense terming a film as copied just because he/she heard so from some one else)… I think these guys get some kind of insane pleasure in doing so
1.Mumbai police and Bourne series – wtf is similar between the two leaving the amnesia of the leads!!!
2.Imitaz Ali and Mauzzam Beg – Imitaz Ali has bought the rights by paying to Beg and modified it to his own taste… Beg was disappointed that he was not given credit in the film’s website… He thought that the same would be the case in the credits of the film too but he was wrong and the credit for the script is shared by Mauzzam and Imitaz (check wiki too)
3.Tarantino won Oscar by lifting – He has been open about his influences always and gives credit to his inspirations always… His skill is the way he modifies the influence and the way he places it in his own story… Reservoir Dogs and city of gods is an exception though… He compares it to kubrick’s killing nd all but never mentions city of god anywhere
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