When it comes to Indian cinema, one could comfortably say that the line between “inspired by” and “blatant rip-off” is often as blurry as the plotlines in a masala movie. With a staggering output of over 2,000 films a year, the Indian film industry has earned its spot as one of the “biggest” in the world—delivering everything from high-octane action flicks to tear-jerking dramas, dance numbers that could put Broadway to shame, and of course, the film that leaves you wondering whether you just watched a reimagining of a forgotten Hollywood classic or a straight-up bootleg. But, let’s not beat around the bush: sometimes, what Indian filmmakers call “inspiration” could easily be mistaken for something far more sinister—like, say, plagiarism.
The term plagiarism, according to the dictionary, is defined as “wrongful appropriation” or “close imitation” of someone else’s work, and the act of presenting it as one’s own. And if we apply this definition to some of the more “inspired” pieces of Indian cinema, it’s hard not to ask: when did copy-pasting become an acceptable mode of creative expression? After all, some of Indian cinema’s biggest hits, while they may have seemed fresh and innovative to the average viewer, turn out to be little more than rewrapped, rebranded versions of films that came from other shores. But, rather than facing an uproar about intellectual property theft, these films have often been hailed as triumphs of adaptation—or, in most cases, unapologetic cash grabs that turned a plump profit for everyone involved.
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