Shirish Kunder's 'Kriti' taken off YouTube due to copyright claim

Bollywood filmmaker Shirish Kunder's short film 'Kriti', which has courted controversy over allegations of plagiarism by Nepalese filmmaker Aneel Neupane, has been pulled down by YouTube

Bollywood filmmaker Shirish Kunder's short film 'Kriti', which has courted controversy over allegations of plagiarism by Nepalese filmmaker Aneel Neupane, has been pulled down by YouTube.

YouTube removed the psychological thriller - starring Manoj Bajpayee, Radhika Apte and Neha Sharma - on Tuesday stating, "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Aneel Neupane."

Here are screenshots:

Shirish Kunder on Monday filed a legal notice against the Nepali filmmaker who claimed that 'Kriti' is a copy of his film 'Bob'. He has also sought a written apology.

After Kunder's 'Kriti' started garnering plaudits on social media, Nepali filmmaker Aneel Neupane accused him of "practically stealing the plot" of his movie 'Bob'.

Also read: Furious Farah Khan opens up on the Shirish Kunder plagiarism row

In reaction to the allegations, Kunder sent a legal notice to Neupane through his advocate.

The notice, a copy of which is with IANS, states that Kunder made 'Kriti' as a "professional film".

"Kunder completed shooting the film in February 2016. It then went into post-production and was published on June 22, 2016."

Neupane alleged that "Bob" was ready in October 2015 and that he uploaded it on Vimeo "as a private video to share it with close friends" before releasing it on YouTube on May 12 this year.

Also read: Praises galore for Shirish Kunder's short film 'Kriti'

In response to that, Kunder's notice reads that he could "not have obtained a copy" of "Bob". In fact, he says that since the script of "Kriti" was available with a few people, it is "entirely possible" that Neupane came across it and then put "Bob" together.

"Assuming your position is correct that the two films are so similar, then it is you who has infringed our client's copyright," the notice to Neupane read.

In “Kriti”, Manoj Bajpayee is seen suffering from a psychological disorder, while Radhika Apte and Neha Sharma play crucial roles with Manu Rishi also essaying a role. The film is for the online platform muvizz.com but has been uploaded on Youtube as well.

Photos: Kangana Ranaut, Manoj Bajpayee with family at 'Kriti' launch

Kunder has demanded that Neupane tenders an "unconditional written apology", refrains from making any oral or written comments on 'Kriti' and takes down “Bob” from the internet immediately and refrain from publishing the same or any part thereof on any other medium.

'Kriti', an 18-minute short film, was released online on June 22. The film is getting rave responses from members of the film fraternity and critics a like. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also appreciated Kunder for it.

(With inputs from IANS)

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