JugJugg can’t chug on to its release?

After alleging that KJo’s JugJugg Jeeyo is copied from his story, writer Vishal appeals to CBFC to withhold censorship of the drama

It looks like JugJugg Jeeyo’s journey to the big screen won’t be without controversies. As soon as the trailer of the Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani and Neetu Kapoor-starrer dropped online on May 22, Vishal Singh — a chartered accountant and Jazbaa’s (2015) creative executive producer — alleged that the film was based on his story, Bunny Rani (Whose story is it anyway, May 23). In a thread posted on Twitter, Singh claimed that he had shared the story with Dharma Productions in 2020, hoping to co-produce the project with them. At the time, the head of creative development at Karan Johar’s production house had told mid-day that should they receive a legal intimation, they would deal with it appropriately. Almost 10 days since, Singh has shot off a letter to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), requesting it to withhold censorship of the June 24 release.  

Vishal Singh and Karan Johar

Explaining his stand, Singh says, “I am not a script or screenplay writer. I write stories, and take them to different producers to co-produce with them. Filmmakers Nitesh Tiwari and Monisha Advani will vouch for it. If Dharma Productions had asked me to give the story to them, I would have happily collaborated with them. But the way they have gone about it is disheartening. If this can happen with me who has worked as a chartered accountant to several filmmakers, imagine what would happen to a rank outsider!”

A snapshot of the mail sent to the CBFC, on May 30

In the May 30 letter — a copy is with mid-day — addressed to the CBFC, Singh has appealed that the certification of Raj Mehta’s directorial venture be withheld, as giving it a go-ahead would amount to “perpetration of illegalities committed by Dharma Productions.” He wrote, “The acts, commissions, and omissions of Dharma not only amount to civil [wrongdoing], including copyright infringement and breach of confidence, but also amount to cheating, misappropriation and criminal breach of trust.” To build his case, Singh cited the 2015 instance when Jyoti Kapoor won a copyright violation case against filmmaker Kunal Kohli, after the Supreme Court ruled that there were similarities between Kapoor’s script titled RSVP and the latter’s film, Phir Se. 

This isn’t Singh’s first attempt to have his side of the story heard. After Johar’s team did not respond to his allegations on Twitter, Singh tagged the ScreenWriters Association (SWA) in another social media post. While the body hasn’t responded to his tweet, its rules allow a production house 15 days’ time to respond to a query or complaint. “The problem is that at the end of 15 days, Dharma [Productions] can use the [excuse] that the release is close, so they can’t share any details,” he shrugs. While he awaits a response from the CBFC, Singh says he is contemplating taking legal recourse.

mid-day reached out to Dharma Productions, which didn’t respond till press time.  

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