On Friday, a Facebook post started doing the rounds, claiming that the Shoojit Sircar-Juhi Chaturvedi film, October, was plagiarised from a 2016 Marathi film Aarti–The Unknown Love Story. October, which released last week, was appreciated by critics and elicited a mixed response from the audience. The movie earned Rs 30.24 crore in the first week. It is a story of a young hotel management student Dan (Varun Dhawan) who discovers himself while taking care of his friend, Shiuli (Banita Sandhu), who was taken comatose after an accident.
Aarti–The Unknown Love Story released in 70 screens across Maharashtra last year. According to the director Sarika Mene, the film was loved by "whoever watched it". She said she was aware that her movie was small, and very raw.
Aarti… is based on a true story of Mene’s brother, Sunny Pawar. In 2006, Sunny’s girlfriend Aarti met with a car accident and Sunny spent three years taking care of Aarti in a hospital in Mumbai. In those three years, Sunny found true love.
Mene has filed a criminal complaint against the filmmakers, including Shoojit Sircar and writer Juhi Chaturvedi, in the Vile Parle Police Station. The filmmakers have also filed a complaint at the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Chitrapat Maha Mandal, Screen Writers Association and IMPPA (Indian Motion Picture Producers Association). In the press release, the team of Aarti… calls for a ban on October and wants to stop further monetisation and exploitation of the film.
Mene spoke to THE WEEK about the movie, similarities with October, and what she expects.
You have said that you had inhibitions after watching the trailer of October, that it’s similar to your movie?
Yes. After watching the trailer, I spoke with some of my close friends in the [film] industry on what steps should be taken. I didn’t want things to backfire if [the content of the film] was not similar. They said that I could still go ahead and talk to either IMPPA or the Screen Writers [Screen Writers Association, SWA], and ask them to connect me with the October team; before release, maybe they could show me the movie. But the associations didn’t take me seriously. They told me to go back and wait till the movie gets released, because big names were associated with it, and I come from a very small town [Murud Jangira, Raigad].
When I saw the movie, I was shattered. 90 per cent of the movie is thematically similar to mine. They have done a good job creatively, but theft is theft. They should have met us at least once. They should have come to us, contacted my family, taken my brother’s approval, and then went ahead with the film.
I had even planned a Hindi movie based on the incident. One of my friends from New York, documentary filmmaker Hemal Trivedi [Among The Believers fame], appreciated my film. She said it was raw, but a very good movie. She wanted to help me put it together properly [for a Hindi adaptation]. She promised to help me with the resources, and a team. She [Trivedi] had even messaged Rajkummar Rao to see him, to take the movie forward. We finished the script and even created five songs for that. And then, we heard about October.
What’s the update now?
After a news report came out, the Association took us seriously and have now watched the film. They told me yesterday that after seeing the movie, if they think there’s any merit to the claims, they’ll call me. As we speak, I received a mail asking me to meet them tomorrow [Saturday] at 5pm. I feel a little motivated now.
You mentioned that your friends suggested you to watch October before its release. Did you try and contact the film’s team for that?
I went to the Marathi Mandal. But nobody helped me connect with the team. Then I tried getting numbers from the internet to personally contact them. Later on, I thought of pursuing it through the Association again because I realised that it may work faster than my contact. I went to them two weeks before the release. For one week, they were trying to figure things out, and there were many ups and down. I used to go almost everyday, after which they mailed IMPPA and the SWA. But no one answered the mails. Then I personally visited IMPPA and SWA and they took note of the email sent by the Mandal. The mail spoke about the issue and asked them to look into it. They told me what could be done now. The movie has already released.
I don’t know the terms and the way things work. I told them that I was not aware of their rules and regulations. I asked them to see my movie and ask the October team to show me their film. Things didn’t work then, but it seems to be working now. The problem is that they [the team of October] are not ready to meet us. The letter has gone to them and they are not responding to that. They feel things are very easy for them.
You are talking about the issue very aggressively now. If you had a hunch, you could have taken it up earlier. Wouldn't that have helped your cause better?
Yes, it would have definitely helped me more. I would have tried for a stay on the [release of the] movie, but I was not aware of it. I am layperson who started in the industry just two years back. I made the film for my brother. I have seen 10 years of his struggle. My life changed, and the relationship between my husband and me became strong because of him. Everyone has been telling me that I should have spoken about it earlier, and approached people from before, but I couldn’t do that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t talk about it now. My lawyer told me that the judge might not take my case because the movie has already released.
What are you expecting now, from the October team?
I want the evidence that they said they have—how they made the movie. I have all the evidence of how I made it. I want to see yours; if you say it's a real story, then show me the real facts. If that satisfies me, I don’t have an issue.