Kangana in a still from Simran (Courtesy: YouTube)
New Delhi:
The writer of Kangana Ranaut's new film Simran has written a lengthy Facebook post about how the actress was given credits for 'additional story, screenplay and dialogue' and how it left him feeling "shocked and betrayed." Apurva Asrani, whose name appears after Kangana's in the writing credits of Simran, has been fighting to make himself heard and dismisses Kangana's claim that she turned a single line screenplay from a 'dark, gritty thriller' into a 'fun, light film' as a 'lie.' He also alleges that Simran director Hansal Mehta and co-producer Shailesh Singh 'tried to arm twist' him into agreeing to give Kangana Ranaut co-writing credit - Mr Asrani finally agreed to the 'additional' credit. Apurva Asrani and Hansal Mehta collaborated previously on the films Shahid and Aligarh.
Read Apurva Asrani's Facebook post here:
The controversy over the writing credits of Simran has been on a slow burner ever since Hansal Mehta tweeted this:
In an interview to Mumbai Mirror, Apurva Asrani said, "About the additional dialogue credit, Kangana totally deserves it. She improvised on many of the dialogues and did a remarkable job... There is some hurt over the way things were announced without consulting me. I didn't know that Hansal had promised Kangana part of the writing credit till I had finished the edit. By the time I got to know, the announcement had been made."
On Twitter, he wrote:
After the first poster of Simran was unveiled, Apurva Asrani shared it and wrote, "Here it is. The first look of Simran, for which I've written 'story, screenplay and dialogue'."
Filmmaker Goldie Behl and Neerja screenwriter Saiwyn Quadras are supporting Mr Asrani over the falling out.
Kangana Ranaut's Simran is scheduled to release during October.
Read Apurva Asrani's Facebook post here:
The controversy over the writing credits of Simran has been on a slow burner ever since Hansal Mehta tweeted this:
@GanesanMukul Kangana has collaborated on story and dialogues as clarified earlier.
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) May 5, 2017
In an interview to Mumbai Mirror, Apurva Asrani said, "About the additional dialogue credit, Kangana totally deserves it. She improvised on many of the dialogues and did a remarkable job... There is some hurt over the way things were announced without consulting me. I didn't know that Hansal had promised Kangana part of the writing credit till I had finished the edit. By the time I got to know, the announcement had been made."
On Twitter, he wrote:
I appreciate the support @SaiwynQ, but positioning of credits is @producer/directors discretion. It reflects how much they value writers 1/3 https://t.co/DIlUFE4dtA
— Apurva Asrani (@Apurvasrani) May 16, 2017
@SaiwynQ And yes, I am guilty of signing a contract that only protects the producer, because in this case I believed the producer to be my friend.
— Apurva Asrani (@Apurvasrani) May 16, 2017
After the first poster of Simran was unveiled, Apurva Asrani shared it and wrote, "Here it is. The first look of Simran, for which I've written 'story, screenplay and dialogue'."
Here it is. The first look of #Simran, for which I've written 'Story, Screenplay & Dialogue'. Releases 15th Sept. #KanganaRanaut pic.twitter.com/aAyT5JM0Gz
— Apurva Asrani (@Apurvasrani) May 14, 2017
Filmmaker Goldie Behl and Neerja screenwriter Saiwyn Quadras are supporting Mr Asrani over the falling out.
Kangana Ranaut's Simran is scheduled to release during October.
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