Taapsee Pannu’s upcoming Netflix film Gandhari has run into a copyright row just days before its September 3 release, with writer Kalyan Bandi claiming it closely resembles a story he wrote and registered back in 2019.
According to India TodayKalyan, an IIT Madras alumnus working as an Inspector with Central GST and Customs, says he wrote a story titled Gandhari about a mother who becomes a fierce, almost goddess-like figure while trying to save her child from a trafficking racket.
He claims he pitched it to Monika Shergill, now a VP at Netflix, back in 2019 when she was with Voot, sharing an eight-page story and synopsis, but was told it didn’t fit their slate at the time.
He also says he then registered the story with the Screenwriters Association and later pitched it to Baweja Studios in 2023 and JioHotstar as well.
Kalyan says the controversy started once Netflix announced Gandhari in 2025, and the shared title made him question if his concept had been used.
“Only I can connect the title to the concept because it was my creativity. How can it be credited to Kanika Dhillon?” he said, adding that the announcement had hurt his ongoing conversations with production houses. He sent a legal notice in September 2025 seeking around Rs 40 lakh, though he insists money was never the real goal.
He further said, “I don’t even want money. Just say thank you and acknowledge that it was my idea. I’ll be very happy if they can prove to me that this is not my story.”
He got no response and chose not to pursue legal action further, citing the cost of a prolonged battle.
On the other hand, Kanika Dhillon’s Kathha Pictures has rejected the claims outright, saying in a statement, “Our attention has been drawn to allegations circulating on social media and in certain publications to the effect that our forthcoming film Gandhari copies another person’s concept and uses that person’s title.
These allegations are false, and we deny them unequivocally. Gandhari is an original work, written and produced by Ms. Kanika Dhillon and developed by Kathha Pictures.”
The film, directed by Devashish Makhija, follows a mother named Bani fighting to protect her child, and also stars Ishwak Singh, Chhaya Kadam, Swastika Mukherjee and Mita Vashisht.
It marks Taapsee and Dhillon’s fourth collaboration and premieres on Netflix on September 3.