📽️ Fabrice Bracq calls out striking parallels between his 2019 short film and Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies, including plot points and characters.
April 7, 2025: Burqa City Maker ‘Shocked and Saddened’ By Similarities With Laapataa Ladies
India’s Oscar entry Laapataa Ladies, directed by Kiran Rao and produced by Aamir Khan, is facing a fresh wave of plagiarism allegations — this time from French filmmaker Fabrice Bracq, who helmed the 2019 short film Burqa City. After previously denying similarities with Indian filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan’s Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol, the spotlight has now shifted to Bracq’s Arabic-language satire.
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Speaking to the Indian Film Project (IFP), Bracq admitted he hadn’t even heard of Laapataa Ladies until recently. But when he watched the film, the resemblance was hard to ignore.
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“I was both surprised and shocked. Although the story was adapted to Indian culture, many aspects of Burqa City were clearly present,” he said.
What Are The Similarities?
Fabrice pointed out several key moments that mirrored his short film:
- Both stories feature confused husbands, police officers, and their bumbling sidekicks.
- A scene where a man shows a photo of his veiled wife to shopkeepers to find her — only to be interrupted by another veiled woman in a similar outfit — is nearly identical in both films.
- One of the central themes — a woman escaping an abusive marriage — is also shared by both.
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“The message of women’s emancipation and feminism is central to both films,” said Bracq.
Laapataa Ladies Team Responds
Laapataa Ladies writer Biplab Goswami has refuted the claims, stating that the idea was developed over a decade ago.
“The screenplay was first registered in 2014 with the title Two Brides,” he said, calling the plagiarism allegations “completely untrue.”
The film, praised for its sharp storytelling and performances, has already faced comparisons with Rabindranath Tagore’s Noukadubi and Rituparno Ghosh’s adaptation of the same.
What’s Next?
While Fabrice admitted he hadn’t watched Noukadubi or Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol, he expressed disappointment, especially as he was in talks to expand Burqa City into a feature film.
“Now, I’m not even sure if that’s possible,” he said, hinting at a possible conversation with the team behind Laapataa Ladies.
With Laapataa Ladies enjoying box-office and critical success — and being shortlisted for the Oscars — the controversy is likely to intensify as calls grow for clarity and acknowledgment.
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Burqa City, Laapataa Ladies, Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan, Fabrice Bracq, plagiarism controversy, Bollywood news, Indian cinema, Oscar entry, film controversy, Indian films, international films