Mumbai, June 4: The teenage son of a Bollywood filmmaker who eloped with his 13-year-old girlfriend last week says he was inspired by one of his father’s films.

The boy and the girl, who go to the same Juhu school, returned home two days after they vanished. They dropped their plan to run away from the city after the girl’s parents lodged a kidnapping complaint against the boy.

The 15-year-old son of Talat Jani has told police he was inspired by Jeena Sirf Mere Liye, in which Tusshar Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor play childhood sweethearts who brave opposition from their families to unite.

“The boy is a movie buff and told us that the 2002 film directed by his father inspired him to run away with his girlfriend,” sub-inspector Dhiraj Koli of Juhu police station said.

According to the police, the two teenagers live in the same neighbourhood and had met a year ago in school. After their relationship was discovered, their mobiles were taken away by their families, the boy has told the police.

The young couple then planned to elope. On May 31, the girl slipped out of her tuition classes to join the boy waiting in a taxi. The police say they arranged Rs 1,000 each.

Initially, they wanted to meet friends at a go-karting racetrack in Powai. But they dropped the plan and instead went to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to take a train to Chandigarh. At this point, the girl became reluctant.

They stayed at a lodge for two days during which time they learnt from friends that the girl’s parents had lodged the kidnapping complaint and that the police were searching for them.

With little money left, they turned themselves in at Juhu police station on Saturday evening.

The boy, who has represented Maharashtra in football and taekwondo, was arrested on kidnapping charges, but walked out on bail.

He is to appear before a juvenile court.