‘WE SHOT OUR FILM FIRST, ANNOUNCED IT FIRST’
Refuting similarities between Bala and Ujda Chaman, Ayushmann Khurrana says his film has an original script
Actor Ayushmann Khurrana’s film Bala and Sunny Singh starrer Ujda Chaman have been on the headlines much before their release, thanks to the controversy the movies created due to their apparent similar storyline on bald men. And after much debate, Ayushmann has finally opened up on the topic saying that once the film releases, the audience will realise that the story of Bala is original. “We shot our film first, announced our film first. There’s just one line which is similar, otherwise it’s a different film. I’ve seen the South Indian film (on which Ujda Chaman is based) after we completed the shoot. Once you see the film you’ll realise (the difference),” he says.
For the uninitiated, the problem arose when both the comedies had lead characters suffering from premature balding. While Ujda Chaman is an official remake of the Kannada film Ondu Motteya Kathe, Ayushmann insists that Bala is an original film, not just about the woes of premature balding. “Bala isn’t about just receding hair or baldness. It’s about loving and discovering yourself, more than anything else,” explains Ayushmann.
Things got complicated when the makers of Bala confirmed the release date of the film to be November 8, coinciding with Ujda
Chaman. Subsequently, Ujda Chaman’s release got pre-poned to November 1, as the makers dragged the producers of Bala to court.
The makers of Ujda Chaman released a poster that read: Takle ki pehli aur original film (the first and original film on the baldie), indicating that the film will open before Bala and that their film happened first. The actor feels that referring to a bald man as ‘takla’ is derogatory and that playing the role of man suffering from alopecia has actually made him more empathetic. He says,“The word takla is quite derogatory. It’s not celebrating self-love. “I’ve ventured into far fetched territories like sperm donation (in Vicky Donor) and erectile dysfunction (Shubh Mangal Saavdhan). This was the most common one. It’s just the empathy I thought about. I’ve met both kinds of people — those who are bothered by it and those who don’t care about it. The idea is to highlight the fact that you shouldn’t be bothered about it. That is the message of our film.”
With the film releasing a week after Ujda Chaman, is he worried that the numbers at the box-office may be affected? “It happened with the Bhagat Singh films. The film which is good will do well. I’m confident about our film. It’s a beautiful film and one of the best scripts I’ve ever read. Anybody can come up with the same idea,” says Ayushmann.
I’ve seen the South Indian film (on which Ujda Chaman is based). Once you see the film you’ll realise (the difference)
AYUSHMANN KHURRANA ACTOR