Is Bollywood’s ‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’ really a copy of Lollywood’s ‘Actor in Law’?

The film’s theme is truly commendable, for this is perhaps the first Bollywood film dealing with the subject of electricity theft. The film is essentially an issue-based commentary on the subject of power theft and skyrocketing electricity bills in the mofussil areas of India.Shahid is a cheerful and carefree advocate, but his life changes completely when his friend (Sharma) commits suicide under the pressure of paying a hefty amount of Rs1.5 lakh as his electricity bill. From that moment, the sole purpose of his life is to seek justice for his friend.However, apart from Shahid’s presence and the grave issue the film is centred upon, another reason the film’s trailer has been in the news is due to some similarity with the 2016 Pakistani film Actor In Law, which was directed and produced by Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza respectively.

Those who are going to the lengths of declaring Bollywood has copied a Pakistani film should hold back their horses.

The trailer for Batti Gul Meter Chalu, scheduled for release on September 21^st, was recently released to acclaim. The film, helmed by the Toilet: Ek Prem Katha director Shree Narayan Singh, stars Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor alongside Divyendu Sharma and Yami Gautam.

The film’s theme is truly commendable, for this is perhaps the first Bollywood film dealing with the subject of electricity theft. The film is essentially an issue-based commentary on the subject of power theft and skyrocketing electricity bills in the mofussil areas of India.

Shahid is a cheerful and carefree advocate, but his life changes completely when his friend (Sharma) commits suicide under the pressure of paying a hefty amount of Rs1.5 lakh as his electricity bill. From that moment, the sole purpose of his life is to seek justice for his friend

However, apart from Shahid’s presence and the grave issue the film is centred upon, another reason the film’s trailer has been in the news is due to some similarity with the 2016 Pakistani film Actor In Law, which was directed and produced by Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza respectively.

Actor In Law also highlighted the issue of load shedding in Pakistan in a particular courtroom session, with Fahad Mustafa playing a lawyer. As mentioned earlier, Batti Gul Meter Chalu reflects a similar subject, with Kapoor playing a lawyer. Overall, it is obvious how similar difficulties and issues have inundated common people on both sides of the border.

Though fans were quick to notice the similarity, it was brought into the national conversation by Mehwish Hayat – who starred in Actor In Law – expressing that the trailer reminded her of her own film. Looking closely at both films, however, I must agree the similarity is quite evident. Both Kapoor and Mustafa play common men who fight against the system as lawyers in the courtroom, particularly regarding the electricity crisis. Hence, Hayat’s opinion has considerable ground when she says that both movies have presented their premise in a similar pattern.