Cinema VinesSayani Gupta’s debut feature, Aasmani, has been cleared by the Screenwriters Association’s (SWA) Dispute Settlement Committee (DSC) from allegations of copyright infringement. The complaint, filed against Gupta and editor Paramita Ghosh, claimed that the short film bore too close a resemblance to the unfinished documentary Prabha. After reviewing submissions from both parties and conducting independent expert comparisons, the DSC found that the two works shared only a basic idea, while their storytelling, character arcs, conflicts and overall narratives differed substantially.
The committee reiterated that copyright law protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself, and noted that the documentary in question is based on the publicly known life of a real person. In addition, the DSC referred to a separate defamation suit that Gupta had filed against the complainant. A court has reportedly issued an order favourable to Gupta in that case, and because certain issues overlap with the DSC complaint, the matter is now sub judice, preventing further adjudication by the committee.
As a result, the SWA proceedings have been concluded and the complaint closed without prejudice to either party’s legal rights or remedies. The decision comes as Aasmani continues its run on the international film festival circuit, a period during which the copyright dispute had surfaced.
Gupta expressed relief at the outcome, saying, “As I had said earlier, truth will always prevail. I had respected the process and grateful that the truth has come out. It always does. This has been the most harrowing experience of my life. But as my grandmother would often quote Tagore and say ‘tomar potaka jaare dao, bohibare dao shokoti’… ‘whoever you give your flag to bear, you also give them the strength to bear it.’”
