Ayushmann Khurrana in plagiarism row

The team of new Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Bala has found itself in a soup. An assistant director named Kamal Kant Chandra has filed a case against the film’s leading man Ayushmann Khurrana, producer Dinesh Vijan and director Amar Kaushik for plagiarism.

Kamal was quoted in a tabloid as saying, “It’s wrong to start shooting before the court has given its verdict. At the last hearing, they said that they would take time to develop the script. How did they start shooting in 15 days? This means they gave a misleading picture to the court. I approached the vacation bench four days ago, but they stated that I should wait for the next hearing on June 10. But the makers might finish the film by then, and argue that since a lot of money is at stake, the court should rule in their favour.”

A source close to Vijan says there is truth to Kamal’s claim. “We didn’t know his name. But yes, Vijan threw around the idea of a film about a prematurely balding man, which, he says, came to him from somebody,” he said. “Later, we got to know that somebody was Kamal Kant, who probably wanted to come on board as writer and director. But Vijan, instead, gave the idea over to Stree director Amar Kaushik, who developed it with his own writer.”

The source adds it won’t be difficult for Kamal to prove his claims in a court of law. “I think he has e-mails that he sent to the producer, and other proof that the idea came from him. Also, the idea of a prematurely balding man is not common. It would be relatively easy for Kamal Kant to prove his claim,” he concludes.