'PK' makers refute before HC novelist's claim of plagiarism

New Delhi: The producers and directors of Aamir Khan starrer film "PK" today denied in the Delhi High Court a novelist's claim that they lifted certain portions from his book "Farishta" published in 2013.

Seeking dismissal of the plea by novelist Kapil Isapuri, filmmakers Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Raj Kumar Hirani also said that they have not caused any loss to him, by any "act".
"It is denied that there has been any infringement of the plaintiff's (Isapuri's) alleged copyright or that the defendants (PK makers) have earned any amount on account of the original idea of the plaintiff," Justice A K Pathak was told.

They were responding to Isapuri's allegation that Chopra and Hirani, who directed and produced the film, and their respective production companies as well as scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi have "stolen the characters, expression of ideas, scenes (sequences) from the novel".

Isapuri has sought punitive damages of Rs four crore from the filmmakers along with credit for his work.

The counsel for filmmakers also submitted that the petition has become infructuous as the movie has been released and successfully screened all over the country, so nothing more remains now.

To this, the counsel appearing for Isapuri said that he will pursue the matter. In his plea filed through advocate Jyotika Kalra, Isapuri claimed that in his novel he "has criticised blind following of so-called godmen" and said "profession of religion is not natural but is man-made and artificial" and that various issues raised by the movie have been "copied" from his book.

"That the novel has many more such situations which have been very cleverly copied by the defendants in the film by making minor changes and insignificant variations," the petition has said.

Earlier, the high court while dismissing a PIL seeking ban on the movie, had said that there was an "instance of a growing tendency in the country of intolerance" and it has to be "nipped in the bud and unless done so, is likely to spread like wild fire and which the country can ill-afford".

The observation had come on the PIL filed by a local priest seeking directions to delete alleged "objectionable" scenes from the film, claiming it hurt religious sentiments of Hindus.