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Is Karan Johar’s ‘Kalank’ Inspired By This Book’s Premise? 

Even the setting of the film and book appears to be similar.

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Bollywood
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Karan Johar’s Kalank is one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. The anticipation is now accompanied by a murmur that started on social media after a reader tweeted out a link to Shauna Singh Baldwin’s book, ‘What the Body Remembers’ hinting that there were similarities between its story and the plot of Kalank.

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According to the premise released by the Dharma Productions:

Kalank, a period film, set in pre-independent India is a story about an elite family and many of its hidden truths that begin to unfold as communal tensions rise and partition nears. Caught in this situation are Dev, Satya, Roop, and Zafar who find themselves in this battlefield of love. While the whole town is bathed in the shades of red, the question is - will these four see that red in violence or love?”

Here’s a quick summary of the book, ‘What the Body Remembers’:

“Out of the rich culture of India and the brutal drama of the 1947 Partition comes this lush and eloquent debut novel about two women married to the same man.

Roop is a young girl whose mother has died and whose father is deep in debt. So she is elated to learn she is to become the second wife of a wealthy Sikh landowner in a union beneficial to both. For Sardaji’s first wife, Satya, has failed to bear him children. Roop believes that she and Satya, still very much in residence, will be friends.

But the relationship between the older and younger woman is far more complex. And, as India lurches toward independence, Sardarji struggles to find his place amidst the drastic changes”.

Certain similarities are evident. In the book, the story revolves around a young girl named Roop who is then married off to a rich man since his first marriage to a woman, Satya, doesn’t bear him an heir.

In the film, Alia Bhatt’s character is also named Roop and the trailer suggests that she is married to Aditya Roy Kapur’s character, Dev Chaudhry, who plays an influential man.

Additionally, Sonakshi Sinha’s character is also named Satya, and she shares Dev’s surname which is seen as a confirmation to the theory that they’re married in the film.

Even the setting of the film and book is similar - both being set in and around the time when the country saw communal tensions as the partition came closer.

In response to the reader’s tweet, the author of the book, Shauna said, “Thanks for bringing this to my attention, savvy readers. I haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t judge. I did read a leaked plot summary that didn’t seem to be the tale of two women in a polygamous marriage in colonial India”.

Shauna didn’t seem sure about the comparisons.

She also went on to add that no one has purchased the rights of her book.

Karan Johar is yet to comment on the same.

Talking about Kalank earlier, Johar had claimed that the film’s idea was ‘born in his heart and mind 15 years ago’. He claims that the idea came to him as early as 2004, however, the book in question was officially released in 1999. Though, nothing can be confirmed, fans and readers alike are wondering whether the author’s book is indeed the inspiration behind the film, especially after Johar repeatedly said that he believed that writers need to be empowered, and are often the backbone of a film’s success. Kalank is written by Shibani Bathija and Abhishek Varman.

Throughout the promotions of the film, Karan said that he was inspired by fellow filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. We wonder if that was the only thing the movie was ‘inspired’ by.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Karan Johar   Kalank 

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