Jun 25, 2008

Mohan Das : Hindi film's nasty face

Mohan Das, a novella authored by me, which has been translated in to almost all Indian languages by eminent translators, including English and which is still being staged by various theatre groups all over the country, seems has fallen in to the wrong hands for its film version. I just had a chance to see its brochure, printed by the producer for the publicity and promotion of the film, it steals credit titles which have been duly signed by me and the producer in a stamped legal agreement. Fact is, I've written the screenplay and Dialogues, which producer has acknowledged. I had faced some delay in getting agreed upon fee, but finally it was paid.
In addition, today I just spotted an interview of the Director in India Times and to my surprise, the director is conspicuously silent about the story, screenplay and dialogue.
I paste the entire text below so that you can see it yourself. I'm also approaching Osians to safeguard my rights as an author because this organization is headed by Aruna Vasudev, who herself is a writer, journalist and filmmaker.
I'll be moving to the court, if the credits are not properly shown in the film, to seek justice.
(For your information, few Hindi-power-centers are involved in this nasty game beside Bollywood, which has already earned notority in plagiarism, piracy and cheating the artists and writers)
Well, now read the interview:

Director Mazhar Kamran's film Mohandas, starring Sonali Kulkarni, Nakul Vaid , Sharbani Mukherji , Sushant Singh, Aditya Srivastava and Govind Namdeo, has been selected for screening in the 10th Osian's Cinefan, Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema (OCFF10) that will take place in New Delhi from 10th of July to 20th July 2008. Presented as an investigative satirical thriller, Mohandas unravels an unusual small-town scam of stolen identity. It has been filmed in remote parts of UP and MP, against the backdrop of the coal mines.

Comments Mazhar Kamran, "I am happy that I will be showing my film for the first time at a film festival with an Asian focus. Given the nature of the subject of my film and its roots, it is only proper that one begins at home. We are prone to looking elsewhere for recognition, when the best thing to happen is to be recognized in your own milieu." He goes on to add, "There is no dearth of stories that are unique to our time and place. We are not looking here hard enough and go on borrowing from other cultures. In the past, we have had our unique voice. Film-makers like Guru Dutt, Mehboob, Bimal Roy and K. Asif have shown the way our mainstream cinema could go."

Since its establishment in 1999, OCFF has become one of the most important film showcases in Asia. Founded in 1999 by Aruna Vasudev, as a film festival that screened 27 films, OCFF has grown rapidly, diversified and become competitive. It is now recognised as a leading film festival.

In the forthcoming 10th edition, OCFF will screen films from more than 40 countries. Osian's-Cinefan continues to bring the finest films from Indian, Asian and Arab countries and to breaking down artistic hierarchies of the popular and the highbrow -to re-invent a thoughtful and creative film culture for our times.

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