Was disturbed when people said 'Bala' is a copy: Amar Kaushik

Amar Kaushik said that when people started alleging that his latest directorial Bala looks like a copy of recently released Ujda Chaman, it disturbed him but filmmaker said he ensured controversy didn't affect film. Bala, produced by Dinesh Vijan, stars Ayushmann Khurrana as a young man with receding hairline.

READ | Maddock Films’ Comical Instagram Post On Bala For Halloween 2019

While Ujda Chaman, featuring Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety star Sunny Singh in a similar role and backed by Kumar Mangat Pathak, is a remake of 2017 Kannada film Ondu Motteya Ka. Asked if he was perturbed by comparisons, Kaushik told PTI, "If I say I wasn't, it would be wrong. I was (disturbed) for two days. Before going to shoot, Kumar ji had met Dinesh and said he has rights of some south film. Our script was ready and we were just about to go on floors."

"I n saw movie and told him that my film is totally different from that even on paper. Only similarity was that character was bald. We n went and shot our film. n 20 days later I heard y're shooting ir film. I was ok with it because both films are different. We were editing our film and n our teaser came, re was news about ir film," he added.

Kaushik said that things took a turn when all of a sudden, trailer, poster and anuncement of Ujda Chaman were out. "We were a bit taken aback. n people said we copied m and I was obviously disturbed. We had worked hard on film for months. story was different, just because re's a shot of a bald man looking in mirror and both characters go to doctors, on that basis when it is said entire film is similar, I obviously felt bad.  "But n I thought if I let this affect me, I won't be able to work on my film. It was important for me to concentrate. After two days, I got over this," he added.

Kaushik said he was clear he didn't want to make "Bala" a film just about a bald man. 

READ | Bala: Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor Perform Don't Be Shy Challenge In Gym

"If I had to say only that much, I wouldn't have made film. 'Stree' was a horror comedy but had something important to say. I didn't want to make a film on a man who is losing his hair. I wanted to say a lot of things without being preachy and I wanted to say it with love."

Initially, Kaushik wasn't attached to direct film and was merely overlooking writing process to produce Bala for Vijan. But he got so attached to material that he felt natural to come on board as director. film credits three names for writing - Pavel Bhattacharjee for original idea, Niren Bhatt for a story, screenplay and dialogues and, Ravi Muppa for additional screenplay.

"Pavel had original idea which was good but I wanted to add more things, bring in local favour of Kanpur. If it was all being done by one man it would become quite streamlined. So Niren and I were involved. n we gave it to Ravi for additional bits.

"When you write, you get so involved that you don't see its flaws. It's always important to have an objective third-person view. If anyone gives me any feedback, I'll always give m credit. We took more than six-and-half-months to finish this. We wrote every day, stayed in Kanpur, and held discussions at every st," Kaushik added.

Also featuring Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam, Bala is scheduled to be released on vember 7. 

READ | Bala: Ayushmann Khurrana Reveals How Movie Got Its Name