Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone’s new Levi’s advertisement has landed in major trouble. Director Sooni Taraporevala of Yeh Ballet has accused the makers of an advertisement of plagiarising. Taraporevala alleged that the ad set is identical to the one shown in her film. The ad's production designer, Rupin Suchak, admitted that the similarities were deliberate.
Sooni Taraporevala took to Instagram to call how India blatantly copies everything from someone else’s hard work.
Yeh Ballet calls out the makers of Levi’s advertisement
"A couple of days ago someone brought this @levis_in ad to my attention," Sooni wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday, attaching screenshots from her film and the advertisement. "I was shocked to see our Yeh Ballet dance studio set in this ad because it was conceptualized & created out of a derelict space by @shalzoid (our PD) from scratch and dismantled after our shoot. Basically, @nadiaeye (the director of this ad) saw Yeh Ballet and decided to plagiarize our set down to the very last detail (swipe for screenshot). Would Levi’s and the director ever think of doing that in the west without permission/acknowledgement, and passing it off as their own creative work? This is not homage this is intellectual theft! It’s SO unfair to our wonderful production designer @shalzoid to have her work ripped off like that."
She further added, "Copycat culture in India needs to be called out and cancelled. You would think a foreign production company and director would know better. Are you so creatively bankrupt? What were you thinking? @levis_in @nadiaeye @offroadfilms @rupinsuchak @newland.tv."
Taraporevala along with her sharp scream of words, she also shared pictures of the set in question from her film Yeh Ballet. She also added a screenshot wherein production designer Rupin Suchak has admitted to employing the dance studio as an inspiration for the set of the new Levi’s ad.
Yeh Ballet was released on Netflix in 2019, which follows a story of two Mumbai kids, who dream of dancing the ballet, much to the objection of their families and society.
Several Instagram users commented on Sooni Taraporevala’s post and praised her for calling this out, as this was needed. “You should consider seeing them for intellectual property theft. They just can’t do this. Outrageous (sic),” said one user.
Another user commented, “Oh my god. So tired of seeing this happen here so much. Ugh. Also so happy to see you call this out! Way to go (sic).”
Divvya Aggarwal, who is part of Yeh Ballet film, wrote, “I literally saw the ad a couple of times and told people who were sharing it that hey that’s our ballet studio!! How dare they take credit for it (sic).”