I haven't seen 'Aaj ki Taza Khabar' yet: Rohit Shetty

By Subhash K. Jha, Mumbai, Nov 15: If there are any similarities between Rohit Shetty's Golmaal Returns and the 1973 hit comedy Aaj Ki Taza Khabar, then Shetty isn't aware of them.

Nor has he received any notice, legal or otherwise, from the widow of the earlier film's producer who has made copyright-infringement claims.

"I haven't seen 'Aaj Ki Taza Khabar' yet. I've just come back from a holiday with my wife and son. I plan to see the film as soon as possible. I want to see what the similarities are."

Rohit was clueless about the likeness between the two films. "If I knew anything about the similarity I'd have happily paid up. The copyright compensation would've amounted to a few hundred thousand which for a film with multi-million rupee budget is nothing.

"And don't you think we'd have rather avoided trouble than get into a confrontational situation with anyone over the story? We earlier bought the rights of a Gujarati stage play to make the first part of 'Golmaal'. And I went through all the legitimate channels to remake 'Sunday' from a Telugu film."

As for "Golmaal Returns", Rohit says it's not just his film that has echoes from the past. "Even 'Aaj Ki Taza Khabar' I'm told is inspired by a couple of plays including a French play. It's my friend Paritosh Painter who pointed this out to me."

Now Rohit is getting ready for the third part of "Golmaal". He'd more or less like to make it with the same cast again. "I don't think I'll be allowed to make anything else right now. But first I need to see 'Aaj Ki Taza Khabar'."

Released in 1973, "Aaj Ki Taza Khabar" starred Kiran Kumar and Radha Saluja.

--IANS