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Shah Rukh Khan’s Swades is a cult Indian classic that has a separate fan base. The film, helmed by Ashutosh Gowariker, was critically acclaimed upon its release. However, what if we tell you that this film was heavily inspired by a tele-episode of a Zee TV series titled Yule Love Stories which aired in 1993 – 94? The episode was titled America Return (Waapasi). However, what will shock you more is the lead of the telefilm.
This episode had Ashutosh Gowariker as the hero, and his character was called Mohan. He falls in love with Gayatri and wants to take Gayatri Amma to America! Yes, you read that right. He did not even change the names of the characters. A viral clip on the internet shows the scenes from the serial, which were replicated frame by frame for his film.
The clip was shared by a film enthusiast Mimansa Shekhar on her Twitter account, and it went viral from there on various social media platforms. The internet was stunned to watch the clip since all the heartfelt scenes from Swades were copied from this episode which was initially not written or directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. People wanted to know if the director ever credited the original brainchild behind this brilliant story.
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Netizens even trolled Gowariker for never even mentioning that he copied the entire idea for Swades from somewhere else. However, the film was inspired from a novel, which was also the inspiration for this episode. Some were even overwhelmed to see that Kaveri Amma in the serial was later cast in Swades as well!
A user commented on the clip, “Looks like the entire script of Swadesh was copied, another good movie ruined, thanks for sharing. I will try watching this original…PS: Calling copying as inspiration is way too diplomatic.” Another comment read, “Until we find the truth of copywood, we believe it was an original creation.” However, Shekhar who shared the original post argued, “Well, it wasn’t original. Swades took inspiration from several stories & films which even Gowariker has agreed to. So there’s no point in finding the truth etc!”
A user attacked the industry and wrote, “Bollywood copy paste industry… Boycott SRK completely boycott Bollywood permanently…” Some even trolled Gowariker and wrote, “good find .Ashutosh showed great potential,but then Mohan jo dharo happen.”
A user pointed out, “Clearly #Swades (2004) was out an out copy of this (1993-94) #ZeeTV serial #YuleLoveSrories. Ashutosh Gowariker even kept the names of the Character Same to same, Kaveri Amma, Mohan, Geeta, Even the plotline is same to same. wow. @iamsrk #ShahRukhKhan𓃵 #AshutoshGowariker.”
A concerned user commented, “Wow! I hope the writers of this show got writing credits of Swades. This is so similar.”
You can watch a 2 minute clip of the 1993 serial starring Ashutosh Gowariker here.
#AshutoshGowariker played an NRI – Mohan in episode America Return (Vapasi) of #ZeeTV anthology #YuleLoveStories (1993-94). He comes to meet his Kaveri Amma (late Kishori Ballal herself)
Do you think this inspired him to make #Swades (2004)?#ShahRuhKhan
Here's an edited clip 👇 pic.twitter.com/bVelllFOyW— Mimansa Shekhar | मीमांसा शेखर (@mimansashekhar) August 8, 2023
For the unversed, Both Swades and this story on Zee TV’s love story episodics were based on the Kannada novel Chigurida Kanasu by Shivaram Karanth. And we would have to admit it was beautifully created by Ashutosh Gowariker; however, looking at the scenes and themes copied, the resemblance cannot be ignored.
Let us know your thoughts and opinions about the video in the comments section below.
For more such stories, stay tuned to Koimoi.
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