Author accuses Kangana Ranaut of copyright violation over new film

Author Ashish Kaul, who has written the book "Didda: The Warrior Queen of Kashmir", on Friday accused Kangana Ranaut of copyright infringement after the actor announced a film on the warrior queen.

Ranaut and producer Kamal Jain on Thursday announced a sequel to her 2019 release, "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi", titled "Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda".

The sequel will reportedly tell the true story of Didda, who was the Queen of Kashmir and defeated Mehmood Ghaznavi twice.

Despite being struck by polio in one leg, she was one of the greatest warriors.

Kaul said not much has been written about Didda in the history and he believes Ranaut has based the new film's story on his book "Didda: Kashmir Ki Yodha Rani".

He said he was commissioned by Rupa Publications to write the book about Didda in 2018 and it was published in English.

Kaul claimed that he had approached Ranaut to write a foreword for the Hindi version of the book in September last year.

"I wrote a mail to her giving her the entire story that she has quoted yesterday. I had asked her if she would be associated with the book for foreword, there was no talk for the film then. But we didn’t receive any reply from her.

"Whatever she is saying about the story is available only in my book only. She could have asked me if she wants to do a film based on my book but she didn’t approach me," Kaul told PTI.

When he took the matter with Ranaut and the film's producer, they denied that they are using his story for the movie, he said, adding that he will be seeking legal counsel to "protect my rights".

"I will do whatever it takes to protect my rights and consult legal experts in coming days," he said.

When contacted, Ranaut and Jain were not available for a comment.

"Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda" is scheduled to go on floors in January 2022.