Netflix has dismissed plagiarism allegations surrounding its upcoming Taapsee Pannu-led film Gandhari, with the streaming platform’s Director of Original Films, Ruchikaa Kapoor, saying the project is different from a story previously pitched by writer Kalyan Bandi.
According to NDTV, the controversy erupted ahead of the film’s September 3 release on Netflix.
Bandi has alleged that Gandhari bears similarities to a story he pitched to industry executives in 2019 and claimed that he has sent a legal notice to Netflix India content head Monika Shergill.
Speaking at the film’s trailer launch, Kapoor rejected the allegations and stressed Netflix’s commitment to original storytelling.
“We take artistic attribution very seriously. We are a service that receives multiple pitches, and the pitch in question is very different from Kanika Dhillon and Taapsee Pannu’s Gandhari. I won’t make any other assumptions. Please watch the film. You have watched the trailer,” Kapoor said.
She added that Netflix remains committed to ensuring that its storytellers receive proper recognition for their work.
“We are always committed to the originality of our storytellers, whether someone has written five or six films or if it is their first film. At Netflix, we are very clear on that,” she said.
According to Bandi, he had been pitching his story, also titled Gandhari, to several industry players before a studio agreed to develop it as a theatrical project in late 2023.
He said he was surprised when Netflix India announced its own Gandhari in September 2024, with Kanika Dhillon credited as the writer.
“When I saw the title announcement, I reached out to Monika on LinkedIn again because my story is also of a mother and the disappearance of young girls, similar to Taapsee’s film. I didn’t get any response,” Bandi told Mid-Day.
Bandi further claimed that his producers withdrew from the project by December 2024.
He said the Screenwriters Association advised him to pursue legal action, following which he sent a legal notice to Shergill alleging copyright infringement.
However, Kanika Dhillon’s production banner, Kathha Pictures, has strongly denied the allegations.
The production house said Gandhari was developed independently, with both its story and screenplay written by Dhillon.
It also urged media outlets and audiences not to present the allegations as established facts.
Gandhari, directed by Devashish Makhija and starring Taapsee Pannu, is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on 3 September.
