Ujda Chaman maker: Are they scared of my film despite having Ayushmann?

Furious about glaring similarities, Ujda Chaman director Abhishek Pathak rebukes Bala makers for advancing film's release to ensure it hits screens before Sunny Singh-starrer

Social media users may be lauding the trailer of Ayushmann Khurrana's Bala that dropped online yesterday, but Ujda Chaman filmmaker Abhishek Pathak is far from amused. With both stories revolving around men grappling with premature balding, the trailers and posters have glaring similarities. Not just that, the makers of Bala have now advanced the comedy's release from November 15 to November 7, a day before the Sunny Singh starrer hits screens.

"It is unethical on Dinesh's [Vijan, producer] part to advance the release so that the film can release a day before our offering," asserts Pathak, who had pitched his offering as 'Takle ki pehli aur asli film'. "Are they scared of my film when they have a big star like Ayushmann Khurrana [fronting their movie]? While I think they have an upper hand, it appears that they feel they are on shaky ground and hence, are resorting to such things."

Pathak's film is an official remake of Malayalam film Ondu Motteya Kathe (2017). He claims that his production house had sent a public notice to Vijan in April when he learnt of the similarity between the two stories. "They assured us that their film is different, and I took their word for it. But we can all see that there is a blatant resemblance in the [treatment of the] lead characters. We may take legal recourse."

Sunny Singh in Ujda Chaman

When mid-day reached out to Maddock Films, the spokesperson said, "Bala has been in the works for several months. If there are multiple films which deal with one of the themes [shown in Bala], it's all the more variety for the viewers to choose from, which can never be a bad thing. It's unfortunate if a fellow filmmaker sees this as anything but a positive for audiences. Maddock stands firmly by the originality of its film, and will back its project all the way, including through legal recourse if need be."

Also Read: Sunny Singh takes on Ayushmann Khurrana's Bala with Ujda Chaman

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