Writer claims Singh is Kinng plagiarised

Mumbai: Thirty-five-year old Amit Khan has been writing Hindi novels for the last 15 years and now he claims that the story of Singh is Kinng is lifted from one of his novels called Boss, published in 1996.

Khan who has filed a complaint with Film Writers Association also claims that he has worked with Anees Bazmee on two films and he handed his novel to Akshay Kumar during shooting of Dhadkan.

This case comes close on the heels of writer Ajay Monga claming that Om Shanti Om was lifted from his script The Silent Movie.

Meanwhile, Khan has sued the makers of Singh is Kinng for a Rs 5 crore which brings us to the bigger problem - how does one ascertain whether a script has been copied or not, since a story can be interpreted in a million ways by adding or removing a few elements.

Allegations of plagiarism are so rampant now that veteran screen writer Kamlesh Pandey, doesn't even listen to a narration unless it’s done professionally.

“I avoid meeting new writers or reading their material, for the same reason. Tomorrow they will start claiming that my story is yours and that I have stolen your script and if you want me to read and give insight and feedback, so lets do it professionally. You pay my fee and I will do it for you,” he says.

Kumar Gautam, member of the dispute settlement committee of FWA states that the association considers every bit of evidence gathered by the writer before taking up a claim of being cheated... sometimes even verbal narrations are taken into consideration.

And unlike the popular perception, a copyright does not really ensure that your script will be safe either.

The option for writers then is to like Kamlesh Pandey - register their scripts with the WGA or Writers Guild of America which has more powers compared to the FWA.

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