Is Kiran Rao’s “Laapataa Ladies” copied from an Arabic film? This question has set the entire internet abuzz. Released in 2023, the movie received widespread acclaim and was selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2025. However, “Laapataa Ladies”, backed by Aamir Khan’s production, has become the point of discussion after some netizens claimed that it is a copy of an Arabic film called “Burqa City”.
The conversation around Rao’s film started after netizens noticed striking similarities between “Laapataa Ladies” and the Arabic film. The debate began when a clip from the 2019 short film “Burqa City”, directed by Fabrice Bracq, went viral. Set in the Middle East, the 19-minute film tells the story of a newlywed man whose wife gets swapped with another woman, both wearing black burqas.
Similarly, in “Laapataa Ladies”, the story revolves around a newly married groom whose wife goes missing after he mistakenly brings home another woman, whose face was covered with a bridal veil. This premise of brides getting swapped has sparked a discussions online.
The striking similarity in plot between “Burqa City” and “Laapataa Ladies” has triggered a major debate on plagiarism, with X users criticizing Rao for allegedly copying the another film. Drawing comparisons, numerous social media users have shared videos from both films.
Sharing a clip of a Burqa city, one user wrote on X, “This is how Kiran Rao, ex-wife of Aamir Khan, turned everything bad about Burqa into everything wrong with Ghunghat. Kiran Rao shamelessly copied “Burqa City” (2019) and made “Laapataa Ladies” (2023). Disappointingly, many right minded people fell for this.’’ (Agencies)
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