Author accuses Kangana Ranaut of copyright violation over new film, to seek legal counsel

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

Ranaut and producer Kamal Jain on Thursday anunced a sequel to her 2019 release, Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi, titled Manikarnika Returns: Legend of Didda.  sequel will reportedly tell true story of Didda, who was Queen of Kashmir and defeated Mehmood Ghaznavi twice.

Despite being struck by polio in one leg, she was one of greatest warriors. Kaul said t much has been written about Didda in history and he believes Ranaut has based new film's story on his book Didda: Kashmir Ki Yodha Rani.

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

Kaul claimed that he had approached Ranaut to write a foreword for Hindi version of book in September last year. "I wrote a mail to her giving her entire story that she has quoted yesterday. I had asked her if she would be associated with book for foreword, re was talk for film n. But we didn’t receive any reply from her. Whatever she is saying about 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 matter with Ranaut and film's producer, y denied that y are using his story for 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 t available for a comment. Manikarnika Returns: Legend of Didda is scheduled to go on floors in January 2022. 

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