Apoorva Lakhia’s directorial debut Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost, which clocks 20 years on August 22, almost did not get released. A public announcement by Abhishek ‘Gattu’ Kapoor that the script of Apoorva Lakhia’s Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost was his creative property had almost disrupted the director’s plan for an August 22 release.
Apoorva fought back hard dismissing Abhishek Kapoor’s claims as completely baseless. Apoorva claimed the script, including the entire dialogue and screenplay, was completely his.
In an interview to this writer Apoorva had lashed back at the plagiarism charges. “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.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.I’m taking Mr Gattu Kapoor to the cleaners. 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.
Apoorva had given Abhishek Kpaoor a copy of his script to read. Apoorva registered the script of Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost in the writers’ association. After Abhishek Kapoor’s claims Apoorva Lakhia insisted that copyright laws be studied more minutely.
Concluded Lakhia, “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.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.”