A day ahead of the scheduled release of "Chhapaak" (meaning Plop), a Delhi-based lawyer, who represented the real-life acid attack victim, Lakshmi Agarwal, has approached a city court demanding a stay on the release of the film.
Lawyer Aparna Bhatt files plea in Delhi's Patiala House Court seeking stay on film #Chhapaak. Bhatt in her plea has claimed that she was the lawyer for acid attack victim Laxmi for many years and yet she has not been given credit in the film. pic.twitter.com/RuTkzYJnJg
— ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2020
Advocate Aparna Bhatt’s beef is that the movie makers did not give her credit in the film. A day before filing the plea, Bhatt had thanked everyone for supporting her case against the “mighty Bollywood producers”.
“I thank all my friends who endorsed my contribution and challenged team Chhapaak in failing to say even 'Thank you!!'. I cannot match the powers of these mighty producers of Bollywood but keeping quiet will further endorse injustice. I have decided to take my cause to the next level. Ready to face the consequences", Bhatt said on her Facebook post.
The filmmakers have not responded to the plea yet.
Meanwhile, controversies have cornered the film in the past too when a writer filed a petition with the Bombay High Court claiming the he was the original writer of the story on which the film is based, and that he should also be given credit in the film.
Responding to it, Director Meghna Gulzar filed an affidavit asking the court to dismiss the suit and claimed that copyright “cannot be claimed on a story based on a real life event”.
The film Chhapaak, which is being produced by Deepika Padukone, is based on life story of Lakshmi Agarwal. Agarwal was attacked by a man, whose entreaties for marriage were spurned by the victim.
Agarwal, who survived the attack, became a symbol of resistance and hope for many women who have survived acid attacks. She is also the recipient of International Women of Courage Award, conferred upon her by former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.