Bollywood is an industry which is starting to make an impact on the global film industry. It is also the same industry that got into a lot of controversies this past year. Kangana accusing Karan Johar of being the flag bearer of nepotism was one of the biggest controversies which are spoken about even today.
Another reason for Bollywood to be known for is the way their writers are treated. There are seldom times when writers are given their due credit.
The trailer of Rani Mukherji’s Hickhi released two days ago, on 19 December, 2017. The upcoming film’s trailer garnered a lot of attention and the film is eagerly awaited.
However, this Australian-based writer, Nishant Kaushik, is now accusing Bollywood of failing to acknowledge that he put in an effort to develop the story for the upcoming movie ‘Hichki’.
He took to Twitter to express his anger in a series of tweets that he called a ‘rant’. His story went something like this.
1. He was clearly surprised at seeing the trailer.
https://twitter.com/nofreecopies/status/943389973549522944
2. The story goes back to 2015, as he claims.
In March 2015, director Siddharth Malhotra spoke to me about a story that needs to be written. I was excited, and thankful for being considered to take a stab at the opportunity. I mentioned I had a day job. I was told time is not a constraint.
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
3. Dedicated as he was, he claims he started working on just a one-liner brief given by director Siddharth P Malhotra. The screenshots show the date and Nishant’s reply, along with a one-pager of the story he worked on.
Siddharth gave me a one-liner brief. I began working. Over a month, I developed characters, motives, plotlines, and a story synopsis. Despite being in Australia, opened all channels of comms to keep him abreast with updates. pic.twitter.com/sTNfHryRqq
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
4. Despite not receiving a reply, he gave him the benefit of doubt.
After submitting the material over email, I waited. Dropped emails and texts. No response. This could have meant 2 things: 1) The project was not taking off. Or, 2) My work was not fit for purpose. I conceded with whichever of the two was true.
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
5. A writer never forgets the story he has written. So I’m sure he recognised his intellectual property.
More than 2.5 years later, I watch the #Hichki trailer and notice a rather similar storyline, a protagonist with the same speech disorder I had described, and other nuances that I MAY NOT own all by myself, but are undoubtedly similar to the ones I portrayed.
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
6. He’s not claiming it to be his story entirely, but the least he deserved was an acknowledgement for his hard-work.
Does this mean Hichki is my story? NO.
Does it mean I worked on it and was owed the courtesy of a response or acknowledgement of the effort I invested? HELL YES.— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
7. The least a writer can expect is a reply, even if it’s not good news.
The fact that you abruptly cut off from the writer who put in months of hard work to deliver a story to you without a word of feedback, gratitude, or even a "regret to inform" message rankles me.
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
8. If he is so confident about his claims and has evidence to support it, maybe he is right.
My written material, which has been nonchalantly consumed (and possibly forgotten), and all my communication with Siddharth Malhotra is saved on record. Happy to present evidence. But the question is what am I to expect of it?
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
9. He seems more disappointed with the director’s lack of courtesy than anything else.
For what should I expect of the person/s who did not so much as show courtesy to provide a line of correspondence to indicate what course my months of effort was going to take thereon?
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
10. He’s right about this though, he is not the first one to claim a Bollywood movie as his story. We have had these cases in the past too.
In my mind, this episode just validates all the stories I have read of anon/little known writers making claims in media reports that their stories were shamelessly flicked into major motion pictures without giving them due credit.
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
11. If he is indeed right in his claims, then I hope the Hichki team grows a conscience and gives this writer his due credit.
#Hichki team, good luck to you. I am sure you will earn millions. I hope all the money you make is good enough to numb you, because if I were you, my conscience would be pricking me sharp. RANT ENDS.
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
To all of this, director of the movie Siddharth P Malhotra issued a statement to denounce his claims. He tweeted saying,
— siddharth malhotra (@sidpmalhotra) December 20, 2017
Nishant surely must have read the statement and so responded to that too.
He’s not asking for much, he’s asking for acknowledgement.
Siddharth Malhotra has responded to my tweets as below. Clearly missing the point that I made (of no acknowledgement of contribution) vs what he interpreted (of plagiarism charges). Anyway, I am sleeping over this tonight. pic.twitter.com/5VsUJJLh1H
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
He expressed his gratitude for all the people who stood up for him.
Regardless of what happens next, the only feeling I currently have is that of IMMENSE gratitude towards each one of you for standing up for me. People I've known, and people I've never even met. ALL OF YOU. You are beautiful. Thank you.
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
And apologises for not being able to respond to everyone.
To all dear people in the media, my apologies if I haven't responded to everyone yet. I am on vacation with no access to a phone and limited access to the internet. I will respond to each one of you eventually.
— Nishant Kaushik (@nofreecopies) December 20, 2017
Whether Nishant’s claims are true or whether this is a case of miscommunication or lack of communication entirely with a third party involved, we don’t know. However, with Nishant claiming that he has evidence of his correspondence and the story he shared with the director, we’ll have to wait for the truth to unfold.