Gram Chikitsalay: Vinay Pathak faces plagiarism accusations; Kolkata-based filmmaker makes big revelations

Just days before its release, Prime Video’s upcoming series Gram Chikitsalay has been hit by plagiarism allegations. Kolkata-based filmmaker Anindyabikas Datta has accused actor Vinay Pathak of copying his original script titled Quack Shankar.

Datta, a registered member of the Screenwriters Association (SWA), took to Facebook to share his side of the story. In a detailed post, he claimed that Gram Chikitsalay closely mirrors the plot and characters from his script, which he had shared with Pathak back in 2021.

According to Datta, he had approached Pathak for a lead role in Quack Shankar and shared the full script and project details. While Pathak initially showed interest, their talks didn’t move forward. However, two years later, Datta was shocked to see a trailer for Gram Chikitsalay, with Vinay Pathak in the lead, featuring what he says is his story.

In his post, Datta wrote, “I am a writer/filmmaker and a member of SWA. An incident of copyright/IP rights violation has happened with one of my registered screenplays—QUACK SHANKAR (Ref. No. 1607055694, Dated 04/12/2020).” He added that the trailer clearly shows a storyline and characters that are too similar to his original concept.

He even shared screenshots of past conversations with Pathak to support his claims. Datta stated that his project is still in pre-production and that he has already invested a lot of time and money into it.

Gram Chikitsalay, produced by TVF, is set to premiere on Prime Video on May 9. The show stars Vinay Pathak and Amol Parashar and is pitched as a rural medical drama with a blend of humor and heartfelt moments. But the plagiarism claims have sparked serious concerns just ahead of its release.

“So much effort has gone into this. Now this act of copying threatens everything,” Datta wrote in his post. He has asked for urgent action to protect his intellectual property rights. As of now, there has been no official response from Vinay Pathak or the Gram Chikitsalay team.

Gram Chikitsalay is an upcoming comedy-drama series from The Viral Fever (TVF), premiering May 9 on Prime Video. It follows Dr. Prabhat, a city doctor who relocates to a rural health center, facing quirky patients and village challenges. Starring Amol Parashar and Vinay Pathak, the show is expected to bring another heartfelt story from the rural heartland of India after the hit series Panchayat.

The series is created by Deepak Kumar Mishra, written by Vaibhav Suman and Shreya Shrivastava, and directed by Rahul Pandey. It features a talented ensemble cast, including Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, Anandeshwar Dwivedi, Akash Makhija, and Garima Vikrant Singh.

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