Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies, which was India’s official entry to the Oscars 2025, has found itself at the center of a plagiarism discussion. Several social media users have begun to point out striking similarities between Laapataa Ladies and an Arabic film called Burqa City. Also read: Pratibha Ranta on career after Laapataa Ladies: ‘Now, I am aiming for something big with every project’
Laapataa Ladies accused of copying Burqa City
A video of Burqa City has emerged on social media, sparking a conversation about the similarities between Laapataa Ladies and the Arabic film.
In 2019, director Fabrice Bracq directed a 19-minute satirical short film, Burqa City, set against the backdrop of the Middle East. The film tells the story of a newlywed man who finds himself frantic searching for his wife after she is mistakenly swapped with another woman wearing an identical burqa. Through this narrative, Burqa City delivers a critique of patriarchal societies, gender-based restrictions, and the erasure of women’s identities.
The similarity between the plot of Burqa City and Laapataa Ladies has not gone unnoticed, with numerous social media users drawing parallels between the two stories.
One took to X to share, “Kiran Rao’s Lapata Ladies, India’s official entry to the Oscars and projected as an original work, actually seems heavily inspired by a 2019 short film titled Burqa City…. Kiran Rao made Lapata Ladies, with the same theme, replacing burqas with ghoonghats. The film carried the same message about patriarchy, societal norms, and women’s identity. Even the Ravi Kishan police station scene seems heavily inspired.”
Another shared, “There is nothing Original about Bollywood anymore”. This was a topic of discussion on Reddit as well, with the title “Burqa city , 2019 short film – Replace Burqa with Ghunghat you get original Oscar nominated Indian movie”.
“Wow, never knew this existed before. Thanks OP for the post,” one social media user shared, with another mentioning,”Shameful”. “This is embarrassing….the creators were enjoying the success as if they had made something original,” shared one.
About Laapataa Ladies
Laapataa Ladies is set in a fictitious state called Nirmal Pradesh in 2001, where two brides get swapped in a train. While one is taken home by another’s groom, the other is left stranded at a railway station. A police officer, Kishan (Ravi Kishan), takes it upon himself to probe the case. It is based on an award-winning story by Biplab Goswami. The film has been produced by Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, and Jyoti Deshpande under the banner of Aamir Khan Productions, Kindling Pictures, and Jio Studios. The film, which was released in March last year, features Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta and Sparsh Shrivastav in the lead roles alongside Ravi Kishan, Chhaya Kadam and Geeta Aggarwal Sharma. It was India’s official entry to the Oscars 2025. However, the Kiran Rao directorial failed to make the cut for the shortlist.
