Ayushmann Khurrana in Bala. (Image courtesy: YouTube)
Highlights
- The filmmaker wants a permanent stay on the release of Bala
- "It is basically my biopic," he said
- Bala, directed by Amar Kaushik, is slated for November 8 release
The makers of Sunny Singh's Ujda Chaman (which released last week) withdrew their case of plagiarism against the makers of Ayushmann Khurrana's upcoming film Bala but now, filmmaker Kamal Kant Chandra alleged that the film's script is lifted from his biopic, reports news agency IANS. Kamal Kant Chandra claims that Bala 'is basically his life story' and he said that there should be a 'permanent stay' on the release of the Amar Kaushik-directed film. Kamal Kant Chandra also told IANS that he approached Ayushmann Khurrana during the promotion of the actor's 2017 film Bareilly Ki Barfi and shared his story. "I want that there should be a permanent stay on the film Bala and that I get to make the film. It is basically my biopic. It's my life story... I met Ayushmann during the promotion of Bareilly Ki Barfi," he told IANS.
After following up with him for over a year, the actor's team apparently told him that Ayushmann was not interested in playing a bald character then. In December 2018, he read that Ayushmann was all set to play a man with premature balding in a film that was not his. "I was shocked. I sent him a legal notice. I also filed a case against him and the makers in Bombay High Court in March. Bala producer Dinesh Vijan's company said that they were working on the script that time," Mr Chandra told IANS.
"I moved the Supreme Court in October 2019. There was a hearing on November 4 in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has ordered Bombay High Court to resolve the matter before Bala releases on November 8," he added.
Apart from team Ujda Chaman and now Kamal Kant Chandra, Jaipur-based filmmaker Naman Goyal also filed a plagiarism case against the makers of Bala. Mr Goyal alleged that the film's plot was similar to that of his short film.
Bala, which also features Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam, opens in cinemas on November 8. Kamal Kant Chandra is the director of Marksheet, which features Mahesh Bhatt.
(With inputs from IANS)