Veteran director Ananth Mahadevan has recently made claims that the popular Netflix film ‘The Two Brides’ borrows similar plot points from his 1999 movie ‘Lifting the Veil’. While the Kiran Rao directorial continues to garner viewers on the streaming platform, questions have been raised about its origins.
Mahadevan’s telefilm ‘Lifting the Veil’ revolved around the misunderstanding of two brides at a railway station. A mix-up occurs when the groom asks one bride to wait on a bench while he gets some important information, only to end up with the wrong woman. Both women are then faced with adjusting to unplanned marriages.
In an interview, Mahadevan noted several familiar story beats between the two films. He pointed out that the inciting incident and subsequent journey of the brides exploring their feelings for each other’s husbands follow an undeniably similar trajectory.
While ‘The Two Brides’ put its own spin on proceedings after the initial mix-up, Mahadevan argues certain plot details like a character struggling to identify a woman in a veil are directly lifted.
However, the writer of ‘The Two Brides’ Biplab Goswami maintains the project is an original work developed from his own experiences. He states the story, characters and scenes were conceived independently without influence from other media.
As the debate continues online, some are questioning the timing of Mahadevan’s film being removed from YouTube where it was previously accessible. With ‘The Two Brides’ finding widespread popularity, its inspiring origins remain an intriguing discussion.
