“Plagiarism” is a term generally used in association with literature of all kinds – fiction, non-fiction, essays, even Ph.D. Thesis. But it also applies to other cultural and creative fields like drama, fine arts and cinema. But cinema is perhaps the biggest violator of the norms and principles of plagiarism across the world perhaps because it is easier for a filmmaker to pass off a ‘copy’ or an almost copy of any film across the world made perhaps in the 1970s and wrap it up with updated characterisations, a little switch in the plot, perhaps retaining a slight similarity in the narrative as his/her own.

It refers to the use of another’s ideas, information, language, or writing when done without proper acknowledgement of the original source. Essential to an act of plagiarism is an element of dishonesty in attempting to pass off the plagiarised work as original. Plagiarism is not necessarily the same as copyright infringement, which occurs when one violates copyright law. Like most terms from the area of intellectual property, plagiarism is a concept of the modern age and not really applicable to medieval or ancient works.

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Hindi cinema is flush with plagiarized plot, character, themes and narratives “borrowed”, “inspired from”, “motivated by” or “adapted from” some earlier film, Indian or International. The first film that comes to mind is Raj Kapoor’s Sri 420 which has sometimes been attacked for taking “inspiration” of Charlie Chaplin’s films that popularized the tramp image that made Charlie Chaplin to an all-time star.

Chori Chori (1956) featuring Raj Kapoor and Nargis in the romantic lead in a non-RK production was a “copy” of the Hollywood hit It Happened One Night (1934) produced and directed by Frank Capra featuring Clark Gable and Claudia Colbert. Phir Subah Hogi (1958) also starring Raj Kapoor in the main role known mainly for its rich musical score and songs was along the lines of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, a social comment. The film did........

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