Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s second outing with Netflix, Betaal, which is just hours away from its release has landed in legal soup as Marathi screenwriters Sameer Wadekar and Mahesh Gosawi have accused the makers of stealing the plot of their Marathi zombie film Vetaal.
Backed by SRK's banner Red Chillies, Betaal is set for a May 24 release. Netflix on May 7 released the trailer of the series, which delves into themes of an age-old cure, haunted tunnel, army of undead and how "evil is eternal".
Betaal director Patrick Graham had earlier said that he wanted to dive into an action-packed yet accessible horror series, and was glad that he found the story of Betaal deeprooted in Indian mythology.
However, Marathi screenwriters Sameer and Mahesh have moved Bombay High Court alleging that the makers have lifted the story of their zombie film, Vetaal.
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"We had taken our script to several production houses. We hadn’t pitched it to Red Chillies Entertainment, so the onus isn’t on them, but on the platform that commissioned it. I haven’t been able to figure out how [the idea] reached them. I am told the show went on floors in July 2019, a year after my script was registered with the Screen Writers’ Association [SWA]. We’ve registered a complaint with the SWA too," Sameer told a leading publication.
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They also claimed that there are at least 10 plot points that are similar and said that the court has affirmed that they can seek damages if the plagiarism charges are proved.
Both Netflix and Red Chillies Entertainment are yet to respond to the allegation.
Set in a remote village, the show narrates the story of a team on a mission to help the villagers and fight the horrific enemy. It started when they stumble upon the curse of Betaal mountain, which unleashes an army of zombies on them as well as the villagers. The trailer is dark, gripping, and intriguing.
Starring Viineet Kumar, Aahana Kumra, Suchitra Pillai, Jitendra Joshi, Jatin Goswami, Manjiri Pupala, and Syna Anand, the series will explore age-old secrets and ideologies. Renowned horror studio Blumhouse Television and SK Global Entertainment have executive produced the show.
