1 day Ago By Mashable India
Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies has come under scrutiny for allegedly borrowing from the 2019 Arabic movie Burqa City. A clip from Burqa City recently went viral on social media, sparking speculation among viewers about the originality of Rao’s Bollywood project. The widely shared video showcased the Arabic film’s plot, which follows a newlywed man’s quest to find his wife after she is accidentally swapped with another woman in a burqa.
A viral tweet, that has now been viewed by more than 650,000 times, read, “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. Set in the Middle East, the 19 min film follows a newlywed man whose wife gets exchanged due to identical burqas. He then embarks on a journey to find her.
The satirical comedy highlights the absurdity of a society where women are treated as interchangeable objects rather than unique individuals, critiquing extreme patriarchy, gender-based restrictions, and the loss of identity. 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.” 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. Set in Middle East, the 19 min film follows a newlywed man whose wife gets exchanged due to identical.
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twitter.com/b7GcHN2MmI — THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) March 31, 2025 Shortly after the video emerged online, social media users began questioning whether Kiran Rao had lifted the idea from the Arabic film. “Nothing that Bollywood produces seems to be an original work of art.
They are all brazenly copy pasted from somewhere else, shamelessly billed as original work,” one user commented. “Plagiarism in India. Not a new concept,” chimed in another.
A third remarked, “Abhi kuch nahi ho sakta..I was under the impression that it was original.
.good that this movie gave one beautiful song Sajni Re by Arijit.” Laapataa Ladies hit theaters on 1 March 2024, marking Kiran Rao’s return to directing after Dhobi Ghat.
The film stars Sparsh Shrivastava, Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, and Ravi Kishan, transporting audiences to rural India in 2001. It follows the chaotic tale of two brides swapped during a train ride, sparking a rollercoaster search by their husbands for the right one. A post shared by Civic Studios (@civicstudios) Produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Kindling Productions, the movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2023, earning a standing ovation.
Celebrities like Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, and Vijay Varma showered it with praise. Later, it was chosen as India’s official entry for the International Feature Film category at the 2025 Oscars. See Also: Aamir Khan Speaks On Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies Failing To Get Oscar Nomination: 'Itna Seriously Nahi Lena.
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