Film director Shirish Kunder has dismissed allegations that his short movie "Kriti" is a copy of a Nepali short film.
A Facebook post by Aneel Neupane, who claims to be a filmmaker from Nepal, said that Kunder "practically stole the plot" of his film titled "Bob" for the psychological - thriller.
The post read: "I'm angry not because Mr. Shirish Kunder practically stole the plot and made it into his film.
I'm angry because we didn't even have lunch money while shooting 'Bob', and a spotboy for 'Kriti' probably made more money than Bob's entire budget.
"My team and I didn't work our asses off just so some rich dude from India could turn it into this and get away with it.
That's just not fair. "
After the claims caught attention on digital platforms, Kunder, who is married to filmmaker Farah Khan, took to Twitter to settle the matter.
Kunder tweeted: "To those comparing 'Kriti' with some short film released on May 12, 2016.
'Kriti' was shot in February, 2016.
Hope this settles the matter. "
Neupane alleges that his film was ready in October 2015 and he uploaded it on Vimeo "as a private video to share it with close friends" before releasing it on YouTube on May 12, this year.
Addressing this allegation, Kunder said: "About their claims of a private Vimeo link shared with close friends on October 2015.
I'm not even their friend.
Let alone close friend. "
In "Kriti", Manoj Bajpayee is seen suffering from a psychological disorder, while Radhika Apte and Neha Sharma play crucial roles with Manu Rishi also essaying a role.
The film is for the online platform muvizz. com but has been uploaded on Youtube as well.
"Kriti", an 18 - minute short film, was released online on June 22.
The film is getting rave responses from members of the film fraternity and critics a like.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also appreciated director.