After Wilson Louis notes how Netflix's Choked seems identical to his short film Choke, Anurag Kashyap calls him to clear the air; director to not pursue legal action
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; May 25, 2020)

Director Wilson Louis was in for a rude shock last week when he chanced upon the trailer of Anurag Kashyap's upcoming film, Choked. The almost identical titles aside, the Netflix film had a lot in common with the Louis-directed Choke — if the Saiyami Kher starrer revolves around a housewife who finds money flowing out of her kitchen pipe, the 2019 short film starring Seema Biswas tells the story of a BMC officer who hides gold in a choked pipe of his building.

On Friday, Louis, in a terse Facebook post, highlighted the uncanny similarities between the two stories. "Hansal Mehta, whom I have worked with in the past, reached out to me after reading my post. He had seen Anurag's film and was sure it's an original concept. By then, I had contacted Monika Shergill [VP, content, Netflix] who was taken aback by the similarities," shares the director.

Soon after, Kashyap called the filmmaker to discuss the matter. "I never accused Anurag of stealing [my idea]. But, let's admit that we live in an industry where ideas are often passed around. Writers don't feel secure about their material, and creators don't have the integrity to credit the original writers. In such a scenario, you assume the worst in everyone. After the conversation, we agreed that both films have an uncanny resemblance as far as the idea is concerned."

During the chat, Kashyap also informed him that writer Nihit Bhave had registered his script with Screen Writers' Association as early as June 2013. "I am not pressing charges of plagiarism. However, after consulting my team and lawyer, I want to put forth the fact that we created the film first and released its promo a year ago," adds Louis.

On his part, Bhave reiterates he had developed the story in 2013 with Choked as the title. "I have years' worth of correspondence on e-mail as I shared the script with multiple producers. Once Anurag decided to helm it, we developed it together over five years and tweaked it to include demonetization. Wilson and Anurag have agreed that there is no similarity between the two films, apart from the title and [the plot point of] the pipe. Also, since my script was registered four years before his, shouldn't I be the one worrying about similarities?"

FICCI Frames corroborated that Bhave had sold the script of Choked to Phantom Films in 2015 at their event, Frame Your Ideas.

A once-upon-a-time medical aspirant from Ahmedabad got Anurag Kashyap to turn an idea he was struck with on a Mumbai local into a Netflix film
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; May 24, 2020)

It was while on a Mumbai local that Nihit Bhave got an idea that would become a film directed by Anurag Kashyap. It was 2013, and he, then a writer at an entertainment newspaper working out of an office in Lower Parel, would travel 45 minutes daily from Bhayander.

As writers usually do, he would observe those around him, but was particularly interested in one group. “They are neither rich nor poor, not even middle class. They are the lower rung of the middle class. They don’t have the luxuries, or basic necessities. The frustration of this section gave me the idea,” he says in a telephonic interview.

Choked, starring Saiyami Kher and Roshan Mathew, releases on Netflix on June 5. It’s the story of a woman, who finds money flowing out of her kitchen sink every night. “She works in a bank, is surrounded by money, but doesn’t have much of it. She starts off by questioning the miracle, but then gives up. She has a jealous, jobless husband who is getting curious about the money, and the more inquisitive he gets, the more secretive she becomes. That’s when the marriage just starts falling apart.”

Whether the source of the money is supernatural or not, will only be revealed when we watch the movie, says the 31-year-old. “Its also making a comment on why people who belong to that section don’t go their separate ways despite painful marriages. The couple is choked in the marriage, but won’t leave it,” he adds.

In 2013, Bhave didn’t know it would take seven years for the movie to find its future, or if it would even get made. He had arrived here from Ahmedabad to be a journalist, disillusioned by his ambition to become a doctor. “Here, I was meeting actors, and writing about the industry; dreams felt more tangible, and real.”

He soon quit his job and made the time to write Choked, and then started pitching it. Someone asked where they could place an item song; another thought it would be better as a Marathi film.

It was at a pitching gestural held by FICCI Frames that he got to present his script to Phantom, and received a call for notes on the script by Vikramaditya Motwane.

His partner, Kashyap, would direct the film. And that’s when the waiting game began. “Anurag had to finish the work he was already busy with. So it went on the back burner. I was left doing odd jobs as I waited for the shoot to begin.”

On 27 August, 2017, at 5 am, Bhave sent a frustrated text to Kashyap, that said even if the movie wasn’t happening right away, could he work with him. “Three days later, I was on the sets of Sacred Games 1. I was the script supervisor, assisting him. I would help decode the Hindi dialogues. But since I was around him, I kept hounding him, and he decided to make my movie next. I was also made a writer on Season 2.”

Choked was shot last year over three months, and found its way to Netflix under Kashyap’s new production house, Good Bad Films.

From doing data entry jobs for the Shopper’s Stop website to having a movie of his own means Bhave is living the Mumbai dream. As he works on his next film, a sci-fi thriller with Kashyap, he also hopes to direct his own short film. “From listing types of lingerie and their prices for that shopping website, here I am. There will be people who will believe in you and want to work with you. You’ll have to be patient and have faith.”

Sharing the first look of Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai, director Anurag Kashyap discusses why the Netflix film is close to his heart
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 19, 2020)

After Sacred Games and Ghost Stories, Anurag Kashyap has joined forces with Netflix to tell another powerful tale, Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai. The suspense drama, featuring Saiyami Kher and Malayalam actor Roshan Mathew, drops on the streaming platform on June 5.

Through the story of Kher's character Sarita Pillai, a bank cashier who has to provide for the family while her husband Sushant struggles to make it as a musician, Kashyap delves into how greed and money can upend one's life. "The film is close to my heart. It is about relationships, and the precarious balance between truth, power and money. It is the story of a strong-willed, middle-class housewife who finds cash flowing out of her kitchen sink every night, and how this changes her life," says Kashyap.

Thrilled to collaborate with her favourite filmmaker, Kher says, "I thank Anurag for trusting me to bring Sarita to life. She is the everywoman — overworked and frustrated, yet tenacious and always scheming to build that dream life. Writer Nihit Bhave has beautifully woven the complexities of the middle-class family."

Mathew, who makes his Hindi cinema debut with the film, says it was exciting to play a defeated and suspicious character. "Anurag sir brought a unique kind of sensitivity to him," he adds.