Jawan director Atlee responded to allegations of borrowing elements from his own movies and some Hollywood flicks for his Shah Rukh Khan starrer.
Shah Rukh Khan’s mass entertainer Jawan is on a record-breaking spree! The film has already hit Rs 1000 Crore mark worldwide and continues to mint more numbers. While fans can’t stop praising Atlee for presenting their beloved superstar in this new ‘massy’ avatar, a few noted how some of the elements in the film were borrowed from his own work and a few Hollywood films.
According to them, one of the character in the film was designed similar to Bane from Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. They also felt that the wrestling scene between Vikram Rathore (Shah Rukh Khan) and Aishwarya (Deepika Padukone) in the flashback portion was inspired by a sequence from Thalapathy Vijay starrer Mersal.
Recently, in a chat with Film Companion, Atlee addressed this criticism and said that he is aware people will say that.
The filmmaker told the publication, “I know people will say that, but I am not taking from there. I have done Mersal, I have a wrestling scene in it, which is there in Jawan as well. I know that and it’s ok, both are my films. But when it comes to other films, for example Bane from Batman. I want to cover the face of an actor in a film, which I want to reveal in the next part, so what mask can I go for?”
He continued, “I have one half skull mask, one full bandaged mask, the entire film is about masks only, so I went with the mask that was designed by my production designer. That’s all. It was nice. If they call it Bane, that’s fine, that is a good reference.”
Atlee explained that a creative work will always have some familiarity with what has been previously done before, and that’s where the intent of the creators come into the picture. He defended his work by saying that he has never been dishonest with his craft and has also won court cases, furthering proving his point.
He said, “In the process of creating things, of course you will create something closer to something. If the intention is the same, if I am doing the same thing, then it is wrong. If it echoes, that’s ok. If it is a good reference, I am ok. I know I have been criticized for this for a very long time. I have been to court, I have won the cases, by honesty and merit.”
Atlee told the portal that he goes by basics and lacks an intellectual brain.
“I am not a brainy writer or a great director. I am very simple, I know my craft this much, fortunately it is being translated well, I am happy,” the filmmaker added.
Jawan marks Atlee’s foray in Hindi cinema as a director.
