While people are appreciating the trailer of Rani Mukherji’s Hichki, writer Nishant Kaushik has been left less than impressed. He took to Twitter to share how he was given a one-liner brief by the film’s director Siddharth P Malhotra two-and-a-half years back. He submitted a story that’s startlingly familiar to what Rani Mukerji’s comeback film looks like. Malhotra has however, rubbished the claims.
The Quint got in touch with the Melbourne-based Nishant, who is now visiting Mumbai, to find out what exactly happened.
What are you planning to do? Are you planning to file a case (against Hichki producer YRF)?
Nishant Kaushik: My objective of letting my voice be heard has been met. I don’t plan to file a case, at least at this stage. I was supposed to be in Mumbai on annual holiday with my family and was not prepared for this surprising turn of events. I look forward to a relaxed time for the remainder of my India trip.
Hichki’s director Siddharth Malhotra has said that they acquired the rights to remake Front of the Class. Was your story inspired from that film?
Until yesterday I had never even heard of Front Of The Class. When Siddharth and I spoke in ’15, he did not tell me he had acquired such rights or that he intended to make an adaptation. If he had, I would not have worked on the project because I don’t personally enjoy writing stories that already exist in the market.
Did you call Siddharth Malhotra after watching the trailer of Hitchki?
NK: No, I did not.
What are you demands right now?
NK: No demands, only a request.
Writers need a little more respect than what they seem to be getting today. They are not artists you can get to work for you free of cost or acknowledgement, and then trample over their work to deliver your film to the country. When filmmakers engage with writers, there needs to be better terms of engagement. Watching your work, or even part contribution being made into a film, without you even being informed about it, is very demotivating and upsetting.
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