Netflix has responded to plagiarism allegations surrounding Taapsee Pannu’s upcoming film Gandhari, after writer Kalyan Bandi claimed that the movie’s concept was similar to a story he had pitched several years ago.
Speaking at the film’s trailer launch in Mumbai, Ruchikaa Kapoor Sheikh, Director of Original Films at Netflix India, addressed the allegations and defended the originality of the project.
Sheikh said Netflix takes claims related to artistic attribution seriously and receives numerous story pitches from writers and creators.
“We take artistic attribution very seriously,” she said, adding that the story in question was different from Kanika Dhillon and Taapsee Pannu’s Gandhari.
She also urged audiences to watch the film before drawing conclusions about the allegations.
Writer Claims He Pitched Gandhari Story in 2019
Kalyan Bandi, an IIT Madras alumnus working with Central GST and Customs, has claimed that he wrote a story titled Gandhari in 2019.
According to Bandi, his story focused on a mother who transforms into a fierce, almost goddess-like figure while trying to rescue her child from a human trafficking network.
Bandi claims he later pitched the concept to Monika Shergill, who was associated with Voot at the time and is now Netflix India’s vice president of content.
He reportedly shared an eight-page story and synopsis with the platform but was informed that the project did not fit its content slate.
After Gandhari was announced in 2025, Bandi reportedly issued a legal notice seeking Rs. 40 lakh in compensation.
However, the writer has said that money was not his main concern.
According to Bandi, he primarily wants acknowledgement for his work and has called for recognition of the idea he says he originally developed.
Netflix Defends Film’s Originality
Netflix has rejected the suggestion that Gandhari was based on Bandi’s alleged pitch.
Sheikh said the company receives multiple pitches and maintained that the story described by Bandi is different from the film written by Kanika Dhillon.
She also emphasized Netflix’s commitment to protecting original storytelling.
The Netflix executive said the platform values originality regardless of whether a writer is an established filmmaker with several projects or someone making their debut.
Her comments come as interest in the film grows ahead of its scheduled release on the streaming platform.
Kanika Dhillon Denies Plagiarism Allegations
Kanika Dhillon’s production company, Kathha Pictures, has also strongly denied the allegations.
The production house described the claims as false and stated that Gandhari is an original project written and produced by Dhillon and developed by Kathha Pictures.
The production team has rejected any suggestion that the film was copied from Bandi’s earlier work.
The controversy has nevertheless generated attention ahead of the film’s release, particularly because both accounts reportedly involve a mother fighting to protect her child from a trafficking-related threat.
Taapsee Pannu Leads the Film
Gandhari stars Taapsee Pannu in the lead role and is directed by Devashish Makhija.
The cast also includes Ishwak Singh, Chhaya Kadam, Swastika Mukherjee, Mita Vashisht and Jatin Sarna.
The film is expected to explore themes of motherhood, revenge, violence and justice, with Pannu portraying a mother pushed into extreme circumstances to protect her child.
With Netflix and the film’s production team denying the plagiarism claims, the controversy remains centred on the competing accounts of how the concept was developed.
Gandhari is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on September 3, 2026.
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