Director Luv Ranjan's next similar to 3 Idiots goes into re-write

Mumbai, June 16 (IANS) Director Luv Ranjan, whose rom-com "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" (PKP) has proved quite a success, says he is rewriting a portion of his next film "Saathi" because it is similar to Raj Kumar Hirani's blockbuster "3 Idiots".

"It's actually just one sequence that is identical to both my film and '3 Idiots'. It's the sequence where my hero and his friends gatecrash into a wedding. That sequence is exactly like the one where Aamir and his friends gatecrash into Kareena Kapoor's sister's wedding in '3 Idiots'," said Ranjan.

The director says he wrote his film and the wedding-crashing scene long before "3 Idiots".

"But who will believe me? They'll say I copied '3 Idiots'. And the last thing I need is for people to accuse me of plagiarism. I pride myself on my originality," he said.

Ranjan also needs to change the language that the youngsters speak in "Saathi".

"When I wrote that script, it was the era of Orkut. Now it's Facebook. The language of the young has changed in three years. I'm altering my characters' tongues."

A great problem looms in front of Ranjan - the casting for "Saathi" allows only one of the three pairs of newcomers from PKP to be cast. And since Ranjan loves all the six principal actors in PKP he is caught in strange dilemma.

"My next film requires only one lead pair. How can I select one from the three pairs in PKP? It would be like telling the world that the other two pairs are not as good," he said.

To resolve this casting dilemma, the director may cast an entirely fresh lead pair.

"I'd rather not be unfair to my actors. In any case, I've a sequel to PKP planned for 2012. Everyone wants to know what happens to my characters after they break up at the end of my film. Of course, they get over their distrust of women and fall in love again. We all do, don't we?"

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3 Idiots