Prabhas in a still from Saaho. (Image courtesy: Saaho)
Highlights
- French director Jerome Salle accused Saaho of plagiarism
- He said the makers copied his 2008 film Largo Winch
- He has earlier accused Agnyaathavaasi of copying Largo Winch
Days after actress Lisa Ray accused the makers of Saaho of plagiarism, the director of 2008 French thriller Largo Winch has claimed Prabhas' new film is a copy of his. Jerome Salle learned about the similarities between his film and Saaho after several Twitter users tagged him in posts pointing out the resemblance. In a tweet, Mr Salle called Saaho the "second freemake of Largo Winch" and called it is 'as bad as the first one.' Last year, Jerome Salle had accused Pawan Kalyan's Agnyaathavaasi of plagiarizing Largo Winch (more on that later). The makers of Saaho are yet to respond to the allegations.
In a tweet posted on September 1, Jerome Salle wrote: "It seems this second "freemake" of Largo Winch is as bad as the first one. So please Telugu directors, if you steal my work, at least do it properly? And as my 'Indian career' tweet was of course ironic, I'm sorry but I'm not gonna be able to help." On August 30, a fan tweeted to Mr Salle: "Buddy another day and another free make of your Largo Winch movie in India #Saaho. You are the real Guruji." Taking note of the tweet, Mr Salle responded: "I think I have a promising career in India."
Take a look at Jerome Salle's latest tweet:
And, here's what he said about his "promising career in India":
Now, check out the trailers of Saaho and Largo Winch here:
In 2018, director Trivikram Srinivas was accused of copying Largo Winch in his film Agnyaathavaasi. Jerome Salle had then pointed out: "Indian cinema has all the necessary talent and creativity for not having to plagiarize. And the silence from #Agnathavaasi team since one week is deafening. So let's take action now. #LegalNotice." In a series of tweets, he accused the makers of Agnyaathavaasi of maintaining a stunned silence on the issue.
Earlier, Lisa Ray also accused the makers of Saaho of plagiarising contemporary artist Shilo Shiv Suleman's artwork for a poster of the film's song Baby Won't You Tell Me. She also alleged that the makers did not ask the creator for her "permission or offer her a credit." Calling out the makers in an Instagram post, Lisa Ray wrote: "What is creativity? What is art? Where does it come from? It's come to light that a big budget film production has ripped off one of Shilo's original creations. This is not inspiration but blatant theft. In no world, is this acceptable."
What is creativity? What is art? Where does it come from? We feel what it is not. It's not derived from your social status. Nor your job title. Nor your appearance. Creativity and its sister Art reach us from the sweet spot of the universe- the soul you might say. But I do know that the creator- artist is the channel for it. Let me tell you how hard it is to birth anything original or authentic. I personally labored for years over my book, quelled the doubts and noise from others and didn't emerge until I was almost undone. And when I was moving through dark spaces of self-doubt or hitting creative walls I would turn to the work that @shiloshivsuleman puts out into the world and shares on her Instagram handle for inspiration. I can recognize when a creator works honourably and deeply, bleeding, sacrificing, unsleeping, stretching herself in the direction of emotional bravery to produce work that births those feelings we all look for in day to day life. To feel inspired. To feel alive. That's why when something dishonorable happens, we need to stand up and speak up. To hold up a mirror to these makers to make them understand THIS IS NOT RIGHT. It's come to light that a big budget film production has ripped off one of Shilo's original creations. This is NOT inspiration but blatant theft. In no world, is this acceptable. The production did not contact the creator, ask her permission nor offer to collaborate or offer a credit. Nothing. This is not right. I believed the Hindi film industry was evolving necessarily past stealing storylines and rampant plagiarism but the producers of Shahoo have obviously not gotten the memo when it comes to art. Here's the thing- Creators are worthy of worship. What they produce are more lasting and precious so than all the other 'things' we accumulate that can be taken away. Let's hold these producers accountable for their infuriating, dishonourable action. How would you feel if a thief slid into your home and took away your most prized possessions? Your heart. Your soul. And your livelihood. Image @dietsabya
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Written and directed by Sujeeth, Saaho also features Chunky Panday, Mandira Bedi, Jackie Shroff, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Mahesh Manjrekar and Arun Vijay. It released in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil on August 29 to almost universally terrible reviews but has been piling up the crores at the box office, perhaps due to the Prabhas factor - Saaho is Prabhas' first film after the mega-blockbuster two-part Baahubali.