Ever since its release, Laapataa Ladies has faced accusations of borrowing plotlines from multiple sources — including a classic novel by Rabindranath Tagore.
Where do we draw the line between inspiration and plagiarism? It’s a question that pops up time and again in the creative world. Now let’s face it — in today’s age, hardly anything is completely original. Most stories (be it cinema or any other art form) come from something that came before. And that’s not always a bad thing. If you take an idea, twist it with your own voice, and make it something new, it becomes yours in a way. Even Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate, was known to be influenced by Western music while composing some of his songs. His body of work is so vast that countless filmmakers have turned to it for inspiration — adapting his stories, poems, and novels for the screen. But 'Laapataa Ladies', written by Biplab Goswami, has been accused of lifting the central plot of Tagore’s novel 'Noukadubi' — and doing so without giving credit. As we celebrate Rabindra Jayanti today, the timing couldn’t be more fitting to dig into this debate. Was it a creative nod to a timeless tale, or a borrowed plot that forgot to say thank you? Let's discuss.
Rabindranath Tagore
For the unversed, the 2023 comedy-drama film 'Laapataa Ladies' is directed by Kiran Rao, and stars Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam, and Ravi Kishan in lead roles.
In Rabindranath Tagore’s classic novel 'Noukadubi' (1906), Ramesh, a young lawyer reluctantly married off, finds himself in a storm—literally. On their way back home, a boat carrying two wedding parties capsizes. Ramesh survives, but he is now stuck with Kamala, a bride from the other party, who thinks he is her husband. Neither saw their spouse’s face before the wedding, so the mix-up feels like destiny’s cruel prank. As they try to build a life, Ramesh wrestles with guilt, love for Hemnalini, and growing feelings for Kamala. When the truth unravels, Kamala bolts and the story chases them to Varanasi, leading to a tangled tale of love, identity, and societal pressures.
Now fast forward to 2023, and hop on a train to rural India. In 'Laapataa Ladies', two brides—Phool and Jaya—get hilariously and heartbreakingly swapped thanks to identical wedding veils. One is left stranded at a dusty station, while the other ends up in a home that isn’t hers. But the twist is that instead of just waiting to be “found,” both women start finding themselves. It’s bold, funny, and quietly revolutionary.
Both 'Noukadubi' and 'Laapataa Ladies' hinge on mistaken identities triggered by veiled brides—boats or trains, the chaos is the same. They zero in on how society’s rules, especially arranged marriages, set the stage for these mix-ups, stripping women of agency. In 'Noukadubi', Kamala is bound by duty and tradition, her identity tied to her “husband.” In 'Laapataa Ladies', Phool and Jaya face similar constraints but break free, finding strength and eventually their own identity. Both stories spotlight women navigating a man’s world, with Tagore’s somber lens contrasting Rao’s cheeky humor. They also critique the absurdity of rigid customs—veils and unseen grooms—that fuel the confusion.
Rituparno Ghosh adapted 'Noukadubi' for a film in 2011.
'Noukadubi' leans into emotional turmoil, while 'Laapataa Ladies' adds sass and satire—but both ask the same powerful question: What happens when a woman, quite literally, lands in the wrong life?
Besides 'Noukadubi', the list also includes more.
Filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan pointed out the strong similarities between 'Laapataa Ladies' and his 1999 Doordarshan telefilm, 'Ghoonghat Ke Pat Khol'. “The set-up at the railway station, the mistaken identity, even the photo scene—it’s all there in my film,” Mahadevan said in an interview, adding, “I’m not saying they copied it frame-by-frame, but the overlap is hard to ignore.”
That’s not all. 'Laapataa Ladies' happens to be thematically similar to Fabrice Bracq's 2019 Arabic short film 'Burqa City' as well. In an interview, the French filmmaker expressed that he felt “shocked and saddened” after watching the Indian film, saying it was online viewers who had first pointed out the striking similarities to his work. He highlighted similarities in character types found in both films—like the “naive, loving husband,” the “abusive, controlling spouse,” and a corrupt cop. He also pointed to a crucial plot twist shared by both stories, where a veiled woman turns out to have escaped an abusive marriage, calling it a key narrative overlap.
(Credit: Chhota Memes Bada Dhamaka)
There's also chatter about a lesser-known Malayalam film, 'Grihapravesham', which deals with themes of identity and marriage confusion.
The plagiarism claims against 'Laapataa Ladies' are quite strong. While Biplab Goswami, the film’s writer, has denied these allegations with his own reasoning—which multiple reports have covered—the debate is far from black and white.
Personally, I don’t have a clear-cut answer. The similarities with 'Burqa City' and 'Ghoonghat Ke Pat Khol' do feel more than just coincidence. But when it comes to Tagore’s 'Noukadubi', I wouldn’t call 'Laapataa Ladies' a copy. The central idea is similar, yes, but that alone doesn’t make it plagiarism. Themes like mistaken identity and societal expectations have existed across stories for ages.
As Jean-Luc Godard said, “It’s not where you take things from. It’s where you take them to.” Creative influence is natural. If it’s conscious, credit is a must. If not, maybe it’s just how art flows.
You see, this kind of thing isn’t new. There are several famous films with striking similarities to earlier works. For example:
So, if we’re going to open the plagiarism debate, we’ll find it all over the creative world. Sometimes it’s conscious, sometimes it’s not. And at other times, it’s just a coincidence. That’s just how storytelling evolves. I’m not defending or accusing Goswami here. Whether he was actually inspired by 'Noukadubi' or the similarities just happened unconsciously—well, in the words of Nana Patekar from 'Welcome': “Yeh Raaz Bhi Usi Ke Saath Chala Gaya!”
