Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; March 21, 2015)

Writer Jyoti Kapoor has moved the Bombay High Court demanding a stay on the release of Kunal Kohli’s Phir Se, reiterating allegations that the film, slated for a May release, has been influenced by a story she once discussed with him. The case is likely to come up for hearing on March 25.

Lawyer Rahul Ajatshatru says, “Yes, Jyoti Kapoor has filed a case against Kunal Kohli and others asking for restraining release of the film Phir Se.” The Daawat-E-Ishq co-writer had, in November last year, accused Kohli of plagiarism.

Through media reports on the film, Jyoti found the plotline was eerily similar to a story she had narrated to Kohli in January 2013. He, however, denied the allegations but was asked to put his film’s shoot on hold till the case was resolved. The FWA, which sent both scripts to experts for comparison, ruled in Jyoti’s favour.

Producer Trilok Malhotra, who is currently making a film on Jyoti’s script, had also had filed a complaint with Indian Motion Picture Producers Association. After this, a dispute settlement committee was called by the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees wherein Malhotra and Kohli were called to resolve the issue.

Despite repeated attempts, Kohli did not revert to our text messages or e-mails.

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; November 10, 2014)

Daawat-E- Ishq co-writer, Jyoti Kapoor has filed a complaint with the Film Writers Association ( FWA) alleging director Kunal Kohli’s next film, Phir Se, is based on the story she had narrated to him last year. The case is now pending before the FWA’s dispute settlement committee with Kohli denying the accusations.

An industry source says, “Kapoor’s agency had sent her script to Kunal Kohli early last year. He liked it a lot and when he met her, he suggested certain changes in the script. There were also some issues regarding credit and money. Eventually, the deal did not materialise.” Kapoor is then said to have taken the script to veteran production executive, Trilok Malhotra to make the film.

However, when Kohli announced about his film, she felt that it bore uncanny resemblance to her story. The source adds, “Her agency had e-mailed the script to Kohli. His quotes about his film that have been flashed in the media also indicate that it is Kapoor’s story.

Defending himself, Kohli labels the allegations as a “case of harassment” and questions Kapoor’s claims. “How does she know which film I am making? This is being done just to extort money and so that one can be written about and get their two minutes of fame. Fraud cases like this discourage producer-directors from meeting new talent as you can never predict the intentions of people you meet,” he rues.

Kapoor refuses to divulge details of the case but says, “Neither my producer nor I want any money from Kohli. We just want him to stop making his film. As far as my two minutes of fame is concerned, Mr Kohli should check his facts. I am a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India and a former journalist.
I have really worked hard to reach where I am in this industry.”

Malhotra, who is making a film with Kapoor’s story, has also filed a case with the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA). Association president, T P Aggarwal confirms the news, saying: “Our member Trilok Malhotra came to us along with the writer with the complaint that he has the rights to the story and Kohli cannot make it. He has already paid the money to the writer. We have written to Kunal Kohli to attend the dispute meeting and he cannot start shooting for the film till issue is resolved.”

Meanwhile, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has sent a letter to Kohli preventing him from starting the shoot for his film. General secretary of FWICE, Dilip Pithwa says, “The case is currently under dispute. Kohli was called for the dispute settlement committee meeting which he did not attend. So we have sent him a letter asking him not to start shooting for his film till the case is resolved. If he does not comply to our directions, we will be forced to launch a non- cooperation movement against him.”

Both Kohli and president of Film and Television Producer Guild, Mukesh Bhatt denied having received any such letter from the FWICE. Bhatt states, “I have not received any such intimation from the FWICE and I am not saying this to protect my member. Let the FWA compare the two scripts and give its verdict. But nobody has the right to stop anybody’s work.”