A while back, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar had talked about the groupism in Bollywood and how he didn’t get the support and respect an insider usually gets in a candid interview.
He also tweeted that Dharma Productions had misused the title of his project ‘Bollywood Wives’ and tweaked it to ‘The Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives’ for a series starring Maheep Kapoor, Seema Khan, Bhavana Panday, and Neelam Kothari.
View this post on Instagram
Dear @karanjohar U & @apoorvamehta18 had asked me 4 the title #BollywoodWives for web,which I refused,as my project is underway. It is Morally & ethically wrong u to tweak it to #TheFabulousLivesofBollywoodWives. Pls do not dent my project. I humbly request u to change the title.
— Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) November 20, 2020
He urged the production house to change their title and also shared the notices sent to them by IMPPA, IFTDA and FWICE, reports The Indian Express.
When ‘IMPPA’ asked ‘Film Guild of India’ whether @DharmaMovies was given the Title #BollywoodWives where Dharma is a Member. The GUILD replied that they had outrightly rejected the same. That shows Dharma have blatantly tweeked and misused our Title #BollywoodWives. Check 👇👇 https://t.co/Wo9UJA3fCD pic.twitter.com/ZibM7XYp60
— Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) November 23, 2020
Notices send to @DharmaMovies since 19th Nov, 2 from (IMPPA) ,1 (IFTDA)& 2 Notices of (FWICE )all r Official Bodies of the Film Industry, on misusing & tweaking of my Film Title #BollywoodWives…there is NO official response yet to any of the above Associations from Dharma. https://t.co/QBZyMWxXDG pic.twitter.com/zEfndEoATZ
— Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) November 26, 2020
According to NDTV, Karan Johar has issued an apology saying,
“I want to inform you that we have been promoting our series with the hashtag “Fabulous Lives” on all social media platforms, which is the franchise title we tend to go ahead with. We assure you that the format, nature, audience, and the title of our series are different and would not in any manner dent or encumber the exploitation of your work.”
View this post on Instagram
To my dear friend @imbhandarkar 🙏❤️ pic.twitter.com/l5oX2hmM8A
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) November 26, 2020
Hindustan Times reports that Madhur has now replied saying,
“I didn’t hesitate a moment in the past before granting you the title “GUTKA” in 2013, that you had requested from me, and hence I would have expected the same courtesy in return when I declined you the use of a title I had duly registered, and which I did not intend to part with. The fact that you went ahead and used the title anyway despite our conversation and despite it also having been rejected by the trade associations, is what had upset me deeply. This is not how I believe real relationships work. But let’s move forward. I accept your apology and would like to leave things here.”
View this post on Instagram
Dear @karanjohar 🙏 https://t.co/uNHu4cq8KQ pic.twitter.com/iE9gbQnUpI
— Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) November 26, 2020
What do you think of this title row? Tell us!