A fan of Sridevi, who identifies herself as Saba Arif on social media, was in for a "rude shocked" after she saw the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards over the weekend. On Facebook, Saba Arif alleged that the IIFA organisers "ripped off" her tribute for Sridevi and "passed it off" as their own compilation during the award show, which was hosted in Bangkok in June and it aired on television on Sunday. Saba Arif shared the YouTube link of the tribute for Sridevi she made, in which she superimposed quotes describing the actress on the films stills. Saba Arif posted the video on YouTube in March, a few days after Sridevi died by accidentally drowning in the bathtub of a hotel she was staying in Dubai.
"It's so heartbreaking when something you've worked on gets ripped off and passed off as someone else's work. I just happened to turn on the TV to watch the IIFA awards last night and I got the rude shock of having MY video being played on the show without my permission! (sic)," she wrote on Facebook.
A few fan clubs shared the video tribute for Sridevi, which was broadcast by IIFA organisers:
On social media, Saba Arif found some supporters, who want her to get the due credit for her work. Some Twitter users rebuked IIFA for "plagiarising" and said: "It was beautiful but built on a fan's work. Not yours. You stole it from her."
The #Sridevi tribute was a clear rip-off of this original video by @Hijiinxed A tribute to the legend brought down to this level! #ShameonIIFA #IIFA2018 @IIFA @WizcraftIndia @ColorsTV @arjunk26 @SrideviBKapoor https://t.co/nw56RcfeEc
— Ashis Roy (@ashisr21) July 30, 2018
Hey @IIFA you stole my friend Saba Arif's #Sridevi tribute without giving her credit. She had to watch her video play on a huge screen so that all of Bollywood could watch it and get emotional not knowing that it was stolen from a fan. pic.twitter.com/3ioT3CCPxh
— Gaana Srinivas (@gaanasrini) July 30, 2018
You guys stole @Hijiinxed's video for your #Sridevi tribute. It was beautiful but built on a fan's work. Not yours. You stole it from her. Here's the link to the original - https://t.co/3vgSY3RZ72
— Gaana Srinivas (@gaanasrini) July 30, 2018
Sridevi won the Best Actress IIFA Award posthumously for her role in MOM. Her trophy was collected by her filmmaker husband Boney Kapoor, who broke down during the show.
Sridevi featured in 300 films in a career spanning over five decades. She was given the Padma Shri award, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2013.
