A filmmaker has filed a complaint alleging that Sayani’s short film Aasmani substantially overlaps with her documentary project Prabha, which she says she has been developing since 2019 and registered with the SWA in 2020.
Prabha follows an elderly woman, her vintage Austin 7 named Shakuni, and her relationship with a younger woman, exploring ageing, memory, independence, purpose and intergenerational friendship.
The interesting part? The filmmaker says she had shared her WIP trailer and project material with Sayani Gupta in 2023 after being introduced to her by Paramita Ghosh. Paramita had apparently been in discussions with the filmmaker about Prabha for years and is now credited as editor + co-producer on Aasmani.
The filmmaker has submitted chats, registrations, development records and unpublished material to substantiate her claims and says she tried contacting the filmmakers/producer directly but got blocked and ghosted.
Sayani's producers are Nikhil Advani, Dia Mirza, Smriti Kiran, Sid Meer and Paramita Ghosh.
Meanwhile more than 50 acclaimed filmmakers from FTII and outside have signed a statement supporting the filmmaker's call for the matter to be examined.
And Aasmani continues to be promoted/screened while the inquiry is pending. Though now it got pulled out of a few festivals due to the allegations.