Dear Mr. Kunder,
Before I begin any of this, could you please enlighten me as to where ideas come from?
Where is that magical plane that the artistic tap into, to find a notion that strokes a primeval awe in us? Why simple (and mostly abstract) art hangs for millions on display? And why some of the highly decorated ones in our civilisation are those we call artists?
We have films, music and a proliferation of arts and entertainment that satiates our thirst to be amused, in aplenty. The internet has ushered in an unprecedented era. It is because of the sheer connectivity of the internet that has brought you and I here.
To think we were screaming on a “trunk call” 15 years ago and now, I can now go online and know where all my idols grew up. What they are doing now, and even…contact them! Friends, who fell into an abyss of time and responsibility, now write random ” Yo bro” in messages. Maybe a Chris Cornell can go up and stumble onto my song, maybe Ronaldo can follow you on Instagram and maybe someone like you, Mr. Kunder, can come across a movie made by a rookie Nepali filmmaker and then take major portions from it and call it your ‘Kriti’.
All possible.
Or maybe not. Whatever the truth maybe, it all could have been solved respectfully had you not taken the low road. If only you could be directly contacted to hear your side of the story. It is the fact that you acted like a thief in the dark that has become the issue.
As a filmmaker, your work is to be judged by millions just like any other creation in the public domain. But to let it turn malevolent when a simple gesture of good-hearted clarification was what was needed all along, is what makes us doubt you.
Here is why we are here: You, Mr. Kunder, husband of director Farah Khan, maker of Jaaneman & Joker (I know) are now infamously being lauded as a ‘plagiariser’ for adapting your movie Kriti from Nepali independent filmmaker Aneel Neupane’s Bob.
The plot in itself revolves around a man with mental issues speaking to his psychiatrist. Bob came out two months ago, Kriti came out last week. Aneel Neupane rightfully pointed out the similarities and online media started picking it up. Word got around, and it reached you. And that’s where you lost it all.
It was your attitude towards the whole thing, the nonchalant manner in which you cast away any questions of copying; the high-handedness just oozed from every word you typed that has given the issue a reason to even exist.
This escalated even more after you demanded Aneel Neupane to take down Bob from YouTube and and then threatened to file lawsuit, of all things.
But Aneel Neupane is standing firm. For him, the fight just got personal, a fight for all independent filmmakers whose work is stolen and made mainstream without their proper due. For how long have the creative been hesitant to share their ideas in fears of getting it ripped off by an Anu Malik?
But today’s virtual world believes in the underdog, the trodden and the liberal. The mainstream internet pushed #KritiStoleBob and duly so. It went over, and the impact was felt even in (and hugely so) Indian dailies. The news is getting across and a point is being made of some serious creative allegations that people who have plagiarised have been getting away with for decades, if not centuries.
For disclosure, I must add here that I, as a musician, have previously collaborated with Jazz Productions. It is for a fact that I know that the boys from Jazz are out-of-the-box thinkers, who aim to produce world class content from Nepal.
Aneel Neupane will take this on, his brethren at Jazz Productions will fight tooth & nail and they have all our support from the creative community here in Nepal.
All thanks to you Mr. Kunder.
Yours Truly,
Abhishek
(The author is a musician based in Kathmandu. Views are personal.)
