EXCLUSIVE: Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi team upset with Pagglait; accuse the makers of plagiarism; director Seema Pahwa calls it a coincidence

On Friday March 26, a comic-tragedy film, Pagglait, dropped on Netflix and it was met with mostly positive reviews. Starring Sanya Malhotra in the lead along with Shruti Sharma, Sayani Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Ashutosh Rana, Sheebha Chadha, Jameel Khan, Rajesh Tailang, Chetan Sharma, Aasif Khan, Sharib Hashmi, Meghna Malik and others, it’s about a girl who loses her husband within five months of marriage. While the film got appreciated, some viewers pointed out about its uncanny resemblance to Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi. Directed by actor Seema Pahwa, it told a similar story of a sudden death resulting in a family’s reunion and also a lot of chaos and madness. This ensemble film starred Naseeruddin Shah, Supriya Pathak, Konkona Sen Sharma, Parambrata Chatterjee, Vikrant Massey, Vinay Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Ninad Kamat, Sadiya Siddiqu, Divya Jagdale, Deepika Amin, Brijendra Kala and Rajendra Gupta. It released theatrically on January 1, 2021 and had its premiere at the Jio MAMI 21st Mumbai Film Festival in October 2019, a month before Pagglait went on floors.

A source close to Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi’s team told us that there’s a lot of anger in the team after watching the Sanya Malhotra starrer. The source says, “The actors and other members from the team were quite upset and angry when they saw Pagglait. They couldn’t believe that the film is so similar in so many ways to Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi. From the location to the character traits to even camera angles, so many things seem to be copied is what they allege.”

When contacted, Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi’s director Seema Pahwa made it clear that she has no grudges or any complaint. She told this writer, “Mere actors ka naraaz hona jaayaz hai. The team members are a bit disturbed over these developments. However, ours was an original film and so is Pagglait. I would not say that they copied our film. I guess it must be a coincidence. However, some things were in their control. They were aware of Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi and yet, they ignored the similarities. They could have tweaked the script a little. They had the time and opportunity. They have even shot their film in the same house where we shot Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi!”

When asked whether she has seen Pagglait, Seema Pahwa said, “I have not seen it yet but I have got many calls from friends and unit members and their biggest grouse is that even the shooting location has been the same. I am sure because of the similarities, even they (Pagglait makers) must be having a tough time.”

Incidentally, today, that is, March 31, Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi is all set to release digitally, that too on Netflix.

Also Read: Seema Pahwa to star in Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi