Nilotpal Mrinal has accused the makers of TVF ‘Aspirants’ of allegedly copying 30% of the story from his book ‘Dark Horse’. The author has mentioned taking legal actions as he was not given the due credit for it.
Created and produced by Arunabh Kumar with Shreyansh Pandey, ‘Aspirants’ is directed by Apoorv Singh Karki and written by Deepesh Sumitra Jagdish.
Mrinal recently shared an old picture with Kumar on his Facebook page. He wrote in the post that the photo of their meeting proves that the creator of ‘Aspirants’ was aware of the author’s book and his wish to make a film based on it.
He also mentioned that his suggestion to make a movie or web series based on ‘Dark Horse’ was well received by Kumar and that he had liked the idea. The Sahitya Akademi Award-winning writer states that 30% of ‘Aspirants’ is based on his book.
Mrinal further added that he’ll fight for his book and said: “If I lose it will be the loss of Dark Horse’s writer, but if I win, it will be a win for every struggling writer whose stolen stories have turned into hit films/web series.”
The author has decided to take the matter to court for justice after discussing it with the law and copyright specialists.
Cooperating with the allegations, TVF has released an official statement that reads:
“TVF is a creator-centric organization that has been nurturing writers since inception and takes their rights very seriously. A social media post has alleged that our show ‘Aspirants’ has been inspired by another literary work. The Company has received a notice in this regard, and we will fully cooperate to investigate the matter.”
Starring Naveen Kasturia, Shivankit Singh Parihar, Abhilash Thapliyal, Namita Dubey and Sunny Hinduja, ‘Aspirants’, is a five-part web series that follows the life of three friends preparing for UPSC in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar.
Also Read: Prime Video’s ‘Ek Mini Katha’ uses humour to address sensitive issue