It was recently announced that Unni Mukundan would be playing an IVF specialist in Get-Set Baby, a dramedy directed by Vinay Govind. Scripted by Anoop Ravindran and YV Rajesh, the film, as per the makers, is a “socially relevant light-hearted entertainer, which explores the life of an IVF specialist and the various problems he encounters”.
Following its announcement, Vishnu Venu, who produced Kappela and Ela Veezha Poonchira, took to social media to share about a similar project that he has been planning. He shared the image of a script book, which features a masked soldier holding a feeding bottle. It led to speculations that both films are based on the same concept and possibilities about one of them getting dropped.
When we reached out to Vishnu, who is planning to direct Project Baby, he confirmed that there indeed are some similarities, but stressed his plans to go ahead with the project. “When I saw Get-Set Baby’s announcement, I was initially surprised as I had talks with the same female lead (Nikhila Vimal). I also noticed some similarities between the poster designs. Some ideas that I had communicated with the designing team, YellowTooth, were incorporated in Get-Set Baby’s poster, but they denied it. Maybe it was just a coincidence.”
Adding more on his decision to share his concerns on social media, Vishnu said, “Since I’m keen on doing this film, I didn’t want people to say it’s a copied work. It also saves me from legal complications, if at all anything arises later. Unni called me after he saw my post. When I heard his version of the story, I could sense common elements in the screenplay, but most of it is different, including the protagonist’s profession.”
Putting plagiarism rumours to rest, he added, “An idea can be anyone’s; it’s all about who executes it first. Even if the base idea is similar, a lot can differ with the scale and treatment.”
He is currently on Project Baby’s pre-production.