‘Saaho’ makers accused of plagiarism by Lisa Ray
Actress says a poster closely resembles artwork by Shilo Shiv Suleman
Lisa Ray has accused the makers of ‘Saaho’ of plagiarism. The actress took to Instagram on Friday to write a post alleging that the makers of the action film have copied the work of contemporary artist Shilo Shiv Suleman for one of their posters.
Ray shared the two pictures, one of the original artwork and the other of a similar image featuring Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor’s photos on it.
“We need to stand up and speak up. To hold up a mirror to these makers to make them understand THIS IS NOT RIGHT. It’s come to light that a big budget film production has ripped off one of Shilo’s original creations. This is NOT inspiration but blatant theft. In no world, is this acceptable. The production did not contact the creator, asking her permission or offer to collaborate or offering a credit. Nothing. This is not right,” the actress wrote.
The picture in question is the poster of the song ‘Baby Won’t You Tell Me’, featuring Prabhas and Kapoor.
Taking a dig at the Hindi film industry, the ‘Dobaara’ actress added: “I believed the Hindi film industry was evolving necessarily past stealing storylines and so called inspiration, but the producers of ‘Saaho’ have obviously not gotten the memo when it comes to art. Here’s the thing. Creators are worthy of worship. What they produce are more lasting and precious so than all the other ‘things’ that can be taken away. Let’s hold these producers accountable for their infuriating, dishonourable action.”
Ray ended the note with a question: “How would you feel if a thief slid into your home and took away your most prized possessions? Your heart. Your soul. And your livelihood.”
The makers of ‘Saaho’ are yet to react to the accusation.
‘Saaho’, helmed by Sujeeth, has released in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil in theatres across the country. The action-thriller also stars Evelyn Sharma, Mandira Bedi and Neil Nitin Mukesh.