A Bengali filmmaker and screenplay writer from Kolkata on Monday alleged that Prime Video’s upcoming rural drama series Gram Chikitsalay plagiarises a screenplay he had shared with actor Vinay Pathak four years ago.
Anindya Bikas Datta, the director behind Bengali detective series Kiriti, shared screenshots of his purported conversation with Pathak about a project titled Quack Shankar, alleging his story was stolen and incorporated in Gram Chikitsalay.
“An incident of copyright/IP rights violation has happened with one of my registered screenplays - “QUACK SHANKAR” (Ref. No. 1607055694, Dated 04/12/2020). I want to bring this to light and request your action against the same. In January 2021, I had shared the aforementioned script with renowned actor Mr. Vinay Pathak @pathakvinay. I had shared the project deck with Mr.Pathak and the entire @swaindiaorg SWA registered screenplay, hoping for him to play one of the lead roles. However, he was interested in the lead role while we considered him for the principal antagonist,” Datta wrote on Facebook.
The project got shelved after initial discussions, Datta said.
“We promised him if he was interested in pursuing, then we would further build on the antagonist’s role after discussion with him. However, the talks fell through, and his involvement with the project did not materialise,” Datta said.
Recently, after watching the trailer of Gram Chikitsalay, which dropped on April 30, Datta claimed that the central storyline of Quack Shankar and the associated characters have been directly lifted and used in the upcoming Prime Video show.
“On viewing the trailer of the upcoming @amazonprime Amazon show, I find that the central storyline of my script and the associated characters have been directly lifted and used in an upcoming show named Gram Chikitsalaya. And surprise — it's none other than Mr.Pathak who is essaying the lead role.”
Datta said he is currently working on the very same script with a different set of actors and crew.
“This lifting of concept and storyline — and not to speak of the coincidence of finding Mr. Pathak in his desired role — has dealt a body blow to my project.
My project is currently in pre-production with @ Mr.Raaj Shaandilyaa @writerraj and @vimal.lahoti Mr.Vimal Lahoti’s production company, Kathavachak Films, and they have announced it as one of their upcoming releases (announcement made in 2024),” Datta wrote.
Phone calls to Vinay Pathak went unanswered on Monday. His reply to a text message from The Telegraph Online is awaited.
Also starring Amol Parashar, the TVF-backed drama series Gram Chikitsalay is set in the fictional village of Bhatkandi. The story revolves around Dr. Prabhat, a young idealist from the city — played by Parashar — who is posted at an almost-defunct Primary Health Centre in the village and sets out to bring it back to life.
Vinay Pathak plays Dr. Chetak Kumar in the show.
Created by Deepak Kumar Mishra and directed by Rahul Pandey, Gram Chikitsalay is written by Vaibhav Suman and Shreya Shrivastava. The ensemble cast includes Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, Anandeshwar Dwivedi, Akash Makhija, and Garima Vikrant Singh.
The series will stream on Prime Video on May 9.
