A public announcement by Abhishek 'Gattu' Kapoor that the script of Apoorva Lakhia's Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost is his creative property has disrupted the director's plan for an August 22 release.
The stunned and shaken director spoke to Subhash K Jha.
Abhishek Kapoor claims Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost is scripted by him.
This is completely baseless! The script, including the entire dialogue and screenplay, is completely mine. Half the film industry knows it's mine because they read my script long before I made Mumbai… Abhishek Kapoor, his friends and family, know he hasn't written the script, nor does he have anything to do with it. I'm amazed he can sleep peacefully after doing this to a director who's just stepping into the film industry.
Where does this claim come from?
Search me! I received a legal notice on Friday. Now there's a notice in the trade paper. Why did Mr Kapoor wait until my release was finalised to make his claims on my film? Why wait until the last minute? Obviously to put us into difficulties. What I see is someone telling blatant lies for whatever reasons. It's grossly unfair.
Do you have a plan of action?
I'm taking Mr Gattu Kapoor to the cleaners. I'm consulting my lawyers right now and I plan to sue him. I want justice to be done to me, so that no one will try to spoil a newcomer's career in the future. I came to Mumbai with an open mind. I had no friends in the industry. I worked really hard on the script. If someone else comes and claims your house doesn't belong to you, wouldn't you fight back? It's a shameful claim and all his loved ones know it.
Do you know Abhishek Kapoor?
I know him. I gave him a copy of my script to read, like I did to many other people in the film industry when I was trying to set up my project. Big mistake. I registered the script of Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost as mine in the writers' association. After seeing the bizarre claims that he has made I can only say, we need to re-examine copyright laws more minutely. His claim is nothing but a subtle form of bullying and extortion. Abhishek Kapoor personally introduced me to a whole lot of actors saying I wrote Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost and would they listen to me.
Has money exhanged hands over the script between the two of you?
Never. We had no formal contract or any such thing. I have no professional dealings with Mr Abhishek Kapoor. It's so sad that someone like me, who's worked against all odds and finished the film in a record time of 57 days, should have to deal with the eventuality of my film being stopped from release due to an absolutely false and malicious claim. This incident has robbed me, my family and crew of all excitement. Can this really happen in a democracy like ours?
Is there a chance that the film may not be released on August 22?
Now there's a chance of that happening. I hope I can clear my name. The matter has gone beyond the release now. To have someone malign my name even before I've stepped into my career is a slur that I can't live with. I'll fight till I die.