Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies faced plagiarism charges after a video clip of an Arabic short film titled Burqa City went viral on social media. Kiran Rao's light-hearted social dramedy, which was India's official Oscar entry this year, has been accused of "copying" its concept from a 2019 short film titled Burqa City, directed by French filmmaker Fabrice Bracq.
The viral scene from Burqa City shows a newlywed man searching for his wife after she is mistaken with another burqa-clad woman.
In Laapataa Ladies, the protagonist, Deepak, also embarks on a search after his new bride is swapped with another ghoonghat-clad woman on a train.
In Burqa City, the police officer laughs when the protagonist shows a picture of a burqa-clad woman as she's unrecognisable due to her veil. In Laapataa Ladies, Ravi Kishan's character reacts in the same way when Deepak approaches him with a photo of his veiled wife.
The Internet expressed their disappointment over the striking similarities between the two films as Laapataa Ladies garnered a wide spread critical acclaim.
A user wrote, "So what will you call it? Inspiration or Copy?"
Another user wrote, "There is nothing Original about Bollywood anymore. All inspiration comes from wine-filled-movie-nights-parties. If you know, you know!"
Kiran Rao's Lapata Ladies, India's official entry to the Oscars and projected as an original work, actually seems heavily inspired by a 2019 short film titled Burqa City.
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) March 31, 2025
Set in Middle East, the 19 min film follows a newlywed man whose wife gets exchanged due to identical… pic.twitter.com/b7GcHN2MmI
Another comment read, "It's intriguing that Lapata Ladies has drawn comparisons to Burqa City given the striking similarities in themes and narrative structure. If Rao's film indeed mirrors key aspects of Burqa City, it raises valid questions about originality and the fine line between inspiration and imitation. While it's possible that Rao took inspiration from the short film, the core message about patriarchy, societal norms, and the loss of identity is universal and worth exploring. However, recognizing the source of inspiration is essential, especially when it comes to international recognition like the Oscars."
This is not the first time that the film has faced a plagiarism issue. In July 2024, actor Ananth Mahadevan also called out the film over its originality and claimed that it had a striking resemblance to his debut directorial venture, Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol (1999).
Directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan, Laapataa Ladies is headlined by a fresh cast including Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, and Sparsh Shrivastava. The film swept many awards at the IIFA 2025.
The makers are yet to respond to the plagiarism charges.
