![French Director Accuses <I>Saaho</i> Of Copying His Film <i>Largo Winch</i>: 'If You Steal My Work, At Least Do It Properly' French Director Accuses <I>Saaho</i> Of Copying His Film <i>Largo Winch</i>: 'If You Steal My Work, At Least Do It Properly'](https://c.ndtvimg.com/2019-09/75nrr4ng_saaho-poster-facebook_625x300_03_September_19.jpg?downsize=773:435)
Days after actress Lisa Ray accused the makers of Saaho of plagiarism, the director of 2008 French thriller Largo Winch has claimed Prabhas' new film is a copy of his. Jerome Salle learned about the similarities between his film and Saaho after several Twitter users tagged him in posts pointing out the resemblance. In a tweet, Mr Salle called Saaho the "second freemake of Largo Winch" and called it is 'as bad as the first one.' Last year, Jerome Salle had accused Pawan Kalyan's Agnyaathavaasi of plagiarizing Largo Winch (more on that later). The makers of Saaho are yet to respond to the allegations.
In a tweet posted on September 1, Jerome Salle wrote: "It seems this second "freemake" of Largo Winch is as bad as the first one. So please Telugu directors, if you steal my work, at least do it properly? And as my 'Indian career' tweet was of course ironic, I'm sorry but I'm not gonna be able to help." On August 30, a fan tweeted to Mr Salle: "Buddy another day and another free make of your Largo Winch movie in India #Saaho. You are the real Guruji." Taking note of the tweet, Mr Salle responded: "I think I have a promising career in India."
Take a look at Jerome Salle's latest tweet:
It seems this second "freemake" of Largo Winch is as bad as the first one. So please Telugu directors, if you steal my work, at least do it properly?
— Jerome Salle (@Jerome_Salle) September 1, 2019
And as my "Indian career" tweet was of course ironic, I'm sorry but I'm not gonna be able to help. https://t.co/DWpQJ8Vyi0
And, here's what he said about his "promising career in India":
I think I have a promising career in India. https://t.co/XAiERdgUCF
— Jérome Salle (@Jerome_Salle) August 30, 2019
Now, check out the trailers of Saaho and Largo Winch here:
In 2018, director Trivikram Srinivas was accused of copying Largo Winch in his film Agnyaathavaasi. Jerome Salle had then pointed out: "Indian cinema has all the necessary talent and creativity for not having to plagiarize. And the silence from #Agnathavaasi team since one week is deafening. So let's take action now. #LegalNotice." In a series of tweets, he accused the makers of Agnyaathavaasi of maintaining a stunned silence on the issue.
Indian cinema has all the necessary talent and creativity for not having to plagiarize. And the silence from #Agnathavaasi team since one week is deafening. So let's take action now. #LegalNotice
— Jérome Salle (@Jerome_Salle) January 18, 2018
"The actual reason for #Agnyaathvaasi 's flop could be due to the director copying a film- Largo Winch, directed by Jerome Salle- was something that even @PawanKalyan 's fans couldn't digest."
— Jérome Salle (@Jerome_Salle) November 18, 2018
What goes around comes around ?https://t.co/Xqnhh1H6pP
Screening at #LeBrady tonight. Great atmosphere thanks to the audience. I could've loved the movie but unfortunately the plot was too familiar. #LargoWinch #Agnyaathavaasi pic.twitter.com/RwFWAyeUPz
— Jérome Salle (@Jerome_Salle) January 9, 2018
I'm afraid a settlement with T-series will not be enough. It's not only about India. The movie #Agnyaathavaasi has been released worldwide yesterday. https://t.co/FUXkNSZ2fO
— Jérome Salle (@Jerome_Salle) January 10, 2018
Earlier, Lisa Ray also accused the makers of Saaho of plagiarising contemporary artist Shilo Shiv Suleman's artwork for a poster of the film's song Baby Won't You Tell Me. She also alleged that the makers did not ask the creator for her "permission or offer her a credit." Calling out the makers in an Instagram post, Lisa Ray wrote: "What is creativity? What is art? Where does it come from? It's come to light that a big budget film production has ripped off one of Shilo's original creations. This is not inspiration but blatant theft. In no world, is this acceptable."
Written and directed by Sujeeth, Saaho also features Chunky Panday, Mandira Bedi, Jackie Shroff, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Mahesh Manjrekar and Arun Vijay. It released in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil on August 29 to almost universally terrible reviews but has been piling up the crores at the box office, perhaps due to the Prabhas factor - Saaho is Prabhas' first film after the mega-blockbuster two-part Baahubali.